The Digidestined's Undead Nightmare
by MJJP
Summary: Four years after the defeat of Malomyotismon, the Digidestined are living normal lives. But what will they do when a disaster none could have conceived strikes? A Taiora and Takari. Contains violence and coarse language.
1. Chapter 1: The Simple Life

**So this is my first fic ever. Basically this will centre on the Adventure and Adventure 02 Digidestined team surviving in a zombie apocalypse. The idea may seem a little strange, but it came to me after watching Zombieland and I wondered how different characters would act in such a world. This will have some violence in it and some coarse language. This first chapter is just an intro to set the scene and give a brief outline of my interpretations of the characters and relationships. Other than that I hope you enjoy, and if you have any thoughts on my story or writing style, feel free to rate or review it.**

**Cheers.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Digimon or any of the characters, they are the property of Toei Animation.**

The clock ticked away as the morning dragged slowly onward. The sleepy class of high school seniors stared blankly at the equation covered whiteboard, with only the diligent few bothering to take notes. The sun shone softly through the room's large windows, a constant reminder to the teenagers of the world outside they were missing. As the teacher continued to drone on about differentials, gradients and other mathematical jargon, one bushy haired teenager let out a long, low sigh of pure boredom. Tai Kamiya couldn't stand maths. Of course, that was the same for most of the population, but the eighteen year old wasn't in the mood to express sympathy to others as he felt more and more like banging his head on his desk until he fell unconscious. The brown eyed teen frowned at his notebook and ran a hand through his bushy brown hair, which most closely resembled the head of a broom. While he didn't hate school and did fairly well marks wise, at the moment he would pay nearly any price to escape the endless torture his monotone teacher was inflicting on him. Luckily, the bell mercifully chimed out and announced that morning classes were over.

Tai stood up as the students quickly filed out and looked to his right, comically raising an eyebrow and rolling his eyes at the blond haired, blue eyed boy who sat next to him. Matt Ishida, teenage rock star and one of Tai's oldest friends, smirked as he rose from his seat and the two boys walked out the classroom door, heading for their normal break spot under a small tree in the corner of the school courtyard.

"Damn, you'd think that guy would be bearable after having him for eight months." Matt remarked in his typical calm, relaxed tone.

"Don't act so surprised," Tai replied jovially, "if that guy could make Joe hate going to class, what hope do we have?"

The two chuckled as they headed to their spot where the rest of their group was already waiting.

Sitting under the tree in a semicircle were four other teenagers and Tai greeted each with his characteristic hearty grin. Tai looked at each of his friends, still wondering to this day how such a diverse group of people even got along with one another. On the far left was Izzy Izumi, a year below Tai and Matt but no doubt smarter than all of them. His neatly combed reddish-brown hair matched the tidiness of his uniform, which was as crisp and clean as the day he'd bought it. His brown eyes were constantly shifting back and forth from the rest of the group to his trademark yellow pineapple laptop, which took up close to half of his life. Next to Izzy was a girl of the same age, although she was a good three or four inches taller than him. Mimi Tachikawa was perhaps the bubbliest girl and biggest fashionista Tai had ever met, but then at least she had changed her hair colour from pink back to brown when she moved back to Japan from the US for her senior schooling.

Next was the girl with long purple hair, Yolei Inoue, who matched Izzy's intelligence and Mimi's fashion obsession with her own hyperactivity. She had calmed down and become more measured in the last twelve months, but Yolei would always be Yolei. She was a year younger than Izzy and Mimi and two years younger than Tai, but she nevertheless got on well with everyone else in the group at high school. Tai thought that she missed the younger part of their group who were mostly still in middle school, including his younger sister Kari and Matt's younger brother T.K., but she never really showed it.

Last, but furthest from least in Tai's mind, was Sora Takenouchi, and it was on her that Tai's mind, and eyes, lingered. The redheaded former tomboy was like a big sister to most of the group and was Tai's best female friend. The term 'friend' struck Tai oddly as he thought about it. She had certainly been that to him when they were younger; now, however, Tai wanted more. It wasn't something he could put his finger on, or put into words. All Tai knew was that his feelings for Sora had developed into something deeper than friendship.

"How was Mr Yuki?" Sora asked with a playful smile, snapping Tai out of his trance.

"Do we even need to say anything?" Tai answered as he took a seat next to her.

"I guess not, you do certainly look like you're off with the fairies." She laughed, "Don't worry; I get his torture later today so we're all in the same boat."

"Be sure to send our hate." Matt chimed in, but still maintaining his casual tone.

Everyone laughed, even Izzy who always insisted on showing his teachers the utmost respect. Tai looked at his friends and smiled inwardly. He just wished their whole group could be here so they could all be together.

The other members were mostly all younger and still attended middle school. Tai's younger sister Kari shared her brothers brown hair, but apart from that she was close to being his direct opposite. Where Tai was messy, she was neat and orderly, and where Tai acted in a position of leadership, she tended to follow. Besides their differences, however, the two got along great and Tai was proud of the caring and mature adolescent she had become. Her best friend was T.K., Matt's younger sibling. Blond and blue eyed like his brother, T.K. was a little more amicable than Matt and was known for being cheerful, friendly and easygoing. The two brothers always used to have problems relating to each other, probably because of their parents divorce and separation. In recent years, however, they had patched things up and now got on like a house on fire. Tai had long suspected that the T.K. and his sister had something between them, but neither seemed to have the courage to open up to the other. Tai would normally have tried to meddle and set them up, but then that would be hypocritical of him, considering his feelings for Sora. On the other hand, Tai thought, he was also Kari's older brother, so making her happy whilst also making her extremely uncomfortable would be a double win for him.

The leader of the younger group, Davis Motamiya, had always seemed to Tai like something of a protégé, but at the same time he managed to be far more loud and obnoxious than Tai had ever been. Despite that, he was still a nice guy and although he had once been infatuated with Kari and annoyed her to no end, he seemed to have grown out of it and moved on to other girls.

These three were all fifteen and would be heading to high school in the next year. The one other who wouldn't was Cody Hida, the quiet, mature, brown haired thirteen year old. The other exception was Ken Ichijouji, who attended a special college for the gifted and talented. He was the same age as Yolei, although his calm quiet nature was the complete opposite of her outspoken and energetic temperament. Lastly there was Joe Kido, now a first year university student, which seemed to suit him and his tendency to stress and worry about everything, as well as his apparent need to study every waking moment that he wasn't already spending in class. Still, if you could count on anyone in a pinch, it was Joe and everyone knew it.

Together they formed a team called the Digidestined, children, now young adults, chosen to be the guardians of their world and the parallel dimension known as the digital world. In their battles to maintain stability and peace in and between the realms, the teens had discovered other dimensions that existed alongside the two aforementioned worlds, such as the dark ocean where one of their foes, Daemon, had been banished.

Their partners throughout these battles were the Digimon, with each Digidestined being partnered with one of the digital monsters. Tai remember his partner, a little orange dinosaur called Agumon, fondly. Unfortunately, the gate between the two worlds had now been sealed now for six months. As they were told by their ally Gennai, a digital being who was something between a caretaker and a prophet, the digital world's base coding had been hit by a powerful virus and needed a year or so to repair itself without interference from any other dimension. So, as a precaution, the Digidestined could not travel to see their partners until they were given the all clear by Gennai.

As Tai thought all this through, the conversation continued on around him. Oblivious to what was going on, Tai continued to daydream until Mimi snapped her fingers in front of his face.

"Is anybody home? I asked you a question Tai." she said.

"Huh?" was his only reply.

Mimi sighed and repeated her question, "I said, how long do you think it will be until the gate to the digital world reopens? I mean we might need the Digimon's help if something happens here… and I do want to see Palmon again."

"I was just thinking about that and I -"

"So you had a good reason to ignore me?" Mimi asked sarcastically while cracking a smile.

Tai couldn't help but smile back. "Ha ha, very funny Meems. As I was about to say, I have no idea when everything is gonna reopen, but you're right; I miss them too and we might need the Digimon if trouble hits us here in the real world."

Izzy looked up from his laptop. "Surely there wouldn't be a hazard so dangerous as to warrant a need for the Digimon. We've overcome the most powerful wicked beings either dimension has to offer. Who else could possibly threaten us and what could they hope to gain from an assault on our world?" he said using his usual complex language.

"I agree with Izzy, no one would be stupid enough to challenge the Digidestined, not after all we've accomplished." Yolei added.

Before Tai could reply, Sora spoke up. "I'm sure there's no need to worry about anything, but that doesn't mean we should take our world's safety for granted. I mean I know it's a cliché, but you really never know."

Tai gave her a smile and said, "Took the words straight out of my mouth."

"And turned them into a coherent sentence, no doubt." Sora teased.

Tai swatted her shoulder playfully and they both laughed. "Is that so Miss Perfect? You weren't so confident when you couldn't say 'rehabilitation' properly during your presentation last week." He said, rising to her challenge.

Sora just giggled and shot right back, "At least I knew the word existed before this year."

This sort of playful argument was typical of Tai and Sora. While they had fought a lot when they were younger, they had grown up and now treated arguing just like a game, and nowadays they knew exactly where the line was and never crossed it.

The others observed as the two carried on and they all smirked at one another. They all knew that Tai and Sora had something between them; they got along so well and so naturally that in the past some people had actually mistakenly believed them to be dating, and those people were quite surprised to discover that they were wrong. Plus, it was kind of hard to miss Tai constantly staring at Sora when he thought no one was watching, and when he looked away Sora would always begin staring herself. Everyone in the Digidestined group knew that the two had feelings for each other, everyone, it seemed, except for Tai and Sora. This wouldn't have been a problem if it weren't for the fact that neither seemed to have the guts to confess – and it had been that way for over two years now. Matt in particular thought that the only other obvious couple as clueless as Tai and Sora was T.K. and Kari, but then they were younger and had more of an excuse. The observers all stared at the pair and sighed, knowing that they would more than likely have to interfere if Tai and Sora were ever going to get together.

Eventually the bell rang and a collective groan ran through all of the teens, except for Izzy who was looking forward to his upcoming IT class. The group reluctantly rose to their feet and started making their way back to class, the next obstacle on their road to the freedom of the afternoon. As they all trudged to their respective classrooms, Tai couldn't help but think back to what they had talked about, that they might need the Digimon in the near future and that their safety couldn't be taken for granted. Little did Tai know that these sentiments would be proven right in the coming hours, as the clouds grew darker and gradually filled the sky. Slowly, a lone figure limped towards the school gates.


	2. Chapter 2: Dead Rising

**I thought I would try and get chapter 2 up quickly to add a bit of meat to the story. The length of this chapter is probably indicative of how long the rest will be, I think. As to the overall plot, I have a clear ending in mind but the details and length of the journey, so to speak, are still up in the air a little. Regardless, hope you enjoy and if you like leave a review, I'm open to some constructive criticism.**

**Just a quick thanks to xxhamsters1995 for the sub and to KoumiLoccness for the review (while I'm not obsessed with grammar, I am a bit of a spelling nazi, so thanks for the correction – saves me from looking like an idiot to the FF community)**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Digimon or any of the characters, they are the property of Toei Animation.**

Tai, Sora and Matt all sat around their Bunsen Burner, observing the flickering blue flame as it boiled the water they were to use in an experiment.

"OK, when your water starts to boil I want you all to nominate a group leader to come up to the main desk and collect the extra materials for this experiment." their Biology teacher, Mr Kurosawa, instructed as he patrolled his lab classroom.

Biology was the only subject Tai, Sora and Matt had together and the three friends enjoyed their time together in class immensely, or at least as much as you can enjoy schoolwork. At least they had a good teacher; Mr Kurosawa was serious and strict, but he was also tactful and down to earth. Plus he usually let his class out to lunch a little early, so he was a favourite of the students.

As the lesson continued, Tai glanced up, stealing a glance at Sora, who sat between the two boys. Tai smiled as he took her in; her shoulder length red hair framed her face perfectly, and her light brown eyes had the slightest touch of crimson, something Tai found incredibly attractive. As she focused on their experiment, she wore a look of total concentration. Tai found that this made her look really cute and he couldn't help but smile softly as he stared at her. To him she was perfect.

He absentmindedly shifted his gaze, only to be met with Matt's bright blue eyes and a smug smile on his face. Tai recoiled as he felt the blood rush immediately to his face in embarrassment. In order to avoid Matt's self-satisfied look, he immediately took a keen interest in his book and began copying notes he had already taken. Matt shook his head and chuckled, satisfied that he had made Tai incredibly uncomfortable. Sora, however, had heard him.

"What's so funny?" Sora queried, causing Matt to jump in his seat.

"Uuuuhh, nothing. Just something T.K. did on the weekend - you kinda had to be there, y'know." Matt said hastily, barely managing to remain calm.

"Hmm, whatever." she replied and returned her attention to her work.

Matt breathed a sigh of relief. Sure he wanted the two of them to find out about each other, but just blurting it out would border on insanity and he was sure he'd get a black eye from Tai, and maybe one from Sora. Matt returned to his notes, but, as he expected, out of the corner of his eye, he could see Sora's head turn to gaze at the bushy haired teen who had been ogling her only seconds ago. Matt smirked again; some things never changed.

"Now, what I need you all to do now is… Oh shoot, I forgot." Mr Kurosawa said, "Tai, you're a fast runner, do you mind doing me a quick favour?"

"Um, sure sir, what is it?" Tai responded, a little confused at his teacher's uncharacteristic slipup.

"Can you dash down to the main office and hand this letter the Principal's secretary?" the Mr Kurosawa asked, betraying a slight sense of embarrassment.

"Oh, err, alright, no problem sir." Tai replied, just barely managing to hide his annoyance.

Mr Kurosawa thanked Tai and handed him the letter. Tai accepted it and turned to leave the room.

"See you in a few." Tai said to Matt and Sora on his way out, receiving a smile and a nod from both.

Tai groaned as he started down the staircase. Their Biology lab was on the third floor of their block and the main office was at the other end of the school. Tai was captain of the school soccer team and was also one of the top sprinters in the track team. Even so, he wasn't looking forward to the dash he'd have to make to get back to class before he missed the cool part of their experiment. As Tai reached the bottom of the stairs and headed across the sunbaked bitumen, he grumbled about teachers making students do their jobs for them, and then shifted to Matt thinking he was hot stuff because he had the courage to actually ask girls out.

Not that Tai was a coward; if Sora was anything but his oldest and closest friend he would have confessed ages ago. But that was the problem; how could he take the risk? If Sora didn't share his feelings, which Tai thought was most likely, then that would completely wreck their friendship. As Tai pondered this he found that he had arrived outside the front office. Quickly, he ducked inside and handed the letter to the secretary, explaining who it was from. The secretary smiled and thanked Tai for his efforts.

Tai stepped back out into the courtyard, noticing that while he had been inside the clouds had greyed and moved to block the sun, shading the school grounds from the late April sunshine. Starting back to class, something caught Tai's attention. Just inside the gate, the school principal and two groundskeepers were approaching a strange man who was stumbling between the fence and the nearest classroom like a drunkard. The unusual sight was made even more bizarre by the stranger's appearance. His skin was grey and lifeless, his clothes were ripped as if he had been attacked by a stray dog and although Tai was standing at a distance, he could swear that the man's neck was covered in what was now dried blood. While Tai knew the man could be dangerous, his curiosity got the better of him and he snuck up closer. Taking cover behind a tree, he listened in on what was being said.

"Sir, I will repeat myself: you are to remove yourself from these premises immediately, or I will have you forcibly ejected." Mrs Fuchida, the principal, declared in a tone that Tai had only seen her use once, a tone he was legitimately afraid of. The man turned to face the group of school staff and looked at them blankly. Even though Tai was a good thirty metres away, he was positive that the stranger's eyes were a pure, milky white, pallid orbs set deeply sunken face. Never had he seen something like that before and Tai became even more uneasy. Even so, he was unprepared for what was to happen.

Without warning, the intruder lunged at Mrs Fuchida and tackled her to the ground. Tai's eyes widened, but what the crazed assailant did next made him gasp in shock and terror. The man held his victim down by the shoulders and, like a ravenous carnivore, bit down on the principal's neck and ripped out a small chunk of her flesh. Mrs Fuchida screamed as blood spewed out of the open wound and the groundskeepers scrambled to her aid. One grabbed the cannibal by the waist and pulled him off the blood soaked woman, while the second put him in a headlock.

Tai saw what was coming before it happened; the attacker struggled like a trapped animal for a few seconds before snarling and biting down on the arm around his neck, ripping flesh once again. The bitten groundskeeper screamed out in pure agony and fell to the ground clutching his bleeding, mangled arm. Seeing he had no choice, the one groundskeeper still standing flipped the intruder, bashing his head against the bitumen and from Tai's hiding place he heard the sickening crack of the man's skull.

The altercation had taken all of twenty seconds, but it had seemed to Tai like an eternity. He still could not believe the horror he had just witnessed. Everyone had heard of cannibals of course, but he had never expected to see anything like that, much less on school grounds. Tai hunched over as he felt his stomach lurch; no longer able to hold back, he threw up violently on the base of the tree, panting heavily after he was done. Wiping his mouth, he thought he should at least try and help, so Tai started to approach the scene.

Mrs Fuchida was lying in a pool of blood and her eyes were slack and half open. She lay still. It was clear to see that she had bled out from her wound. The bitten groundskeeper was still very much alive, but he lying on his side, shrieking in pain with his colleague kneeling helplessly at his side. Before either of the two men noticed Tai, the wounded man started spitting up blood, and his screams grew even louder. Tai stopped in his tracks and looked on in terror as the man screamed his last and fell limp.

Time stood still for Tai; he had just seen two people die in one of the most gruesome ways possible, like a horror movie played out for real. But the moment did not wait for Tai. While the intruder lay motionless and unmistakeably dead just a few feet away, the dead groundskeeper and Mrs Fuchida slowly began to stir. Tai thought hopefully that maybe both were still alive. His hopes were destroyed by the looks on both of their faces; they had the same vacant expression as the stranger and their eyes were a sickly white. Quick as a flash, they both set upon the one remaining groundskeeper and bit down on his face and neck. The man howled out in pain like an animal caught in a bear trap as his flesh was torn at by his undead colleagues.

Tai didn't stay to see the end. He ran as fast as he could, not caring about his destination, so long as it was far away from the scene he had just witnessed. Although he couldn't remember the journey, he soon found himself back in his classroom, bent over and out of breath. The whole class stared at him in confusion.

"Training for regionals Kamiya?" Hideki, the class loudmouth asked sarcastically.

A few other students laughed nervously but most, including Matt and Sora, noticed the traumatised look on Tai's face. Sora in particular grew anxious as she could clearly see that something was terribly wrong.

"Tai what's wrong?" she asked, "Tai, answer me, are you alright?" she added when he didn't reply.

Mr Kurosawa approached Tai and placed a hand on his shoulder. "Tai, are you alright? Are you sick? Do you need to go to the nurse's office?" he enquired worriedly.

"W-we need to get out." was all Tai said.

"Get out? I don't understand. What do you mean?" said Mr Kurosawa.

"They're dead. They all turned on each other. We need to get the hell out of here right now!" Tai shouted, slightly hysterical.

"Calm down Tai, what happened? Who's dead?" Mr Kurosawa questioned, now a hint of fear in his voice.

Tai continued to ramble until Sora couldn't take it anymore. She hated seeing her best friend, and crush, so distraught, so she got up and put an arm around him.

"Tai, it's ok. Just tell us what's going on" she soothed.

At that Tai quickly calmed down, feeling safe and at ease with Sora right by him. Her touch brought him back to his senses. He proceeded to recount what he had seen at the school gate, much to everyone's disgust and disbelief. For a minute there was utter silence until someone finally spoke up.

"Cool story, could have used some vampires though." Hideki called out with a mean smirk on his face. But this time no one laughed at his joke.

"You think I'm lying you stupid arsehole?" Tai shouted at him in a rage.

Despite the fact he was still in a state, Tai clenched his fists and started towards Hideki. Mr Kurosawa intervened, however.

"Tai calm down and Hideki shut your mouth for once, that was uncalled for." he said firmly, causing Hideki to sit down in shame.

Mr Kurosawa turned to face Tai.

"If what you said really did happen, then we need to evacu-"

Before Mr Kurosawa could finish, a blood curdling scream was heard from outside on the ground floor. The entire class rushed to the windows and peered out in morbid curiosity. In the middle of the main courtyard a small group of students had run into what had been Mrs Fuchida and the groundskeepers. Two students were already lying on the ground covered in their own blood and the others were running in all directions like frightened animals, being chased by the seemingly possessed living dead. The whole class gawped open-mouthed at the scene, unable to say anything that could be considered coherent.

"It's spreading." Tai said fearfully.

"Class we need to leave now! Follow me and whoever has a mobile phone, call the police. I'll notify the main office so they can inform the whole school." Mr Kurosawa commanded in an authoritative tone, although he could not hide the clear panic in his voice.

The teenagers needed no convincing as they promptly followed their teacher out the door at jogging pace. Tai, Matt and Sora all followed until Matt grabbed both of their sleeves and stopped them. As they had been at the back of the pack, no one noticed that they had fallen behind.

"Matt what the hell, we need to keep moving!" Tai demanded. He was still very unsettled, not having fully recovered from the state he was in only a minute ago.

"I know, but what about the others? Mimi? Izzy? Yolei? We need to get them as well; are we a team or what?" Matt challenged.

Sora spoke up. "Matt, if we break off from Mr Kurosawa we're taking a big risk, and I don't know if-"

"No, he's right." Tai interjected, "We all have to stick together, so we go to each of their classes and pick them up."

Matt nodded, happy to have Tai agree with him. Tai was the de facto leader of the group and although Matt often felt strongly one way, he would typically defer to Tai's judgement on most things. Sora looked a little uncertain, but she too nodded; she wasn't about to contradict both Matt and Tai. Besides, she was worried about her friends.

"Don't worry Sora, I promise you we'll get out of here safely." Tai assured her, placing a hand gently on her arm.

Sora smiled softly. "Thanks Tai. I trust you."

"If you two are finished having your little moment, we need to move." Matt said irritably.

Tai opened his mouth to retort, but held his tongue, knowing that Matt was right. He simply nodded and led the way to Mimi's French room, which was closest. As they ran, they could hear screams coming from outside the building, confirmation of what awaited them when they left the classroom block to find the others. First, however, was Mimi's classroom on the first floor of the same building.

When the three crashed through the door to the room they were met by utter chaos. Students were panicking, running around, hiding under desks and screaming. Out the front of the classroom, surprisingly, was Mimi. She was a pillar of strength and stability amid the bedlam as she tried in vain to instil some sense of order among her fellow students. Of all the things Tai, Matt and Sora had expected to see, Mimi being the calm sensible one was not it. While they were standing there baffled by the situation, Mimi noticed them and hurriedly beckoned them over.

"Guys, I need your help. We saw what happened and we need to get everyone out, but our teacher left on an errand ten minutes ago and never came back. I just can't get any of these idiots to see sense." she pleaded.

Not knowing what to do, they all stood there looking clueless until Matt decided to try something. Walking slowly over to a desk, he pulled the chair out from underneath it and casually approached the window. Matt suddenly yelled out and smashed the glass with the chair, sending a hail of shards onto the floor. Luckily the noise made everyone stop and look at him. Matt smirked and motioned for Mimi to take over.

"Ummm, everyone… ahhh, we need to get out of the building ASAP. So, um, leave your things and just get out without trampling each other, I suppose. So, er, stay alert and look out for each other." Mimi stammered, still shocked by Matt's actions.

Amazingly, her whole class did as they were told and moved out quickly, without any of the hysteria that had infected the students mere moments before. Matt, Tai and Sora all gawked at Mimi with incredulous looks on their faces.

"What?" she said uneasily.

They all grasped control of the situation again.

"Never mind, we need to get the hell out of here and find Izzy and Yolei." Tai said, snapping out of his daze.

"Sounds good, but what's going on? Why is this happening?" Mimi asked, her voice full of fear and uncertainty.

"I wish we knew Meems. All we know is that we can't stay here." Sora answered hastily, looking anxiously out the door to check it was clear.

Just as Sora finished talking, the evacuation announcement aired over the speaker system, instructing all staff and students to get out of the school any way they could. Without another word, the four Digidestined left the French room at a run and headed towards the exit. Yolei and Izzy were both in the block across the courtyard.

As they burst out of the building, they were met with sheer pandemonium. Everywhere in the courtyard were staff and students being chased by the undead. At least a dozen bodies littered the area, though all would soon rise again. Blood covered the ground as if it had fallen as rain.

Taking cover behind some garbage bins, Tai saw the faces, living and dead, of so many people he knew. Mr Yuki, that Maths teacher, had an infected student clawing at his leg and trying to bite through his shoe. Masato and Takeo, two of Izzy's computer club friends, were trying hopelessly to fight off a pair of undead senior students and Hideki was screaming as a now infected Mr Kurosawa pinned him to a wall.

The four Digidestined looked around frantically for any sign of their friends. After a minute of scanning Sora shouted and pointed to the other end of the courtyard. Cowering behind an overturned bench, they could see Izzy and Yolei who had thankfully found each other. The bad news was that between them lay a killing field of cannibalistic reanimated corpses and terrified people scrambling to save themselves. Tai, seeing the need of the situation, took charge.

"Matt, do you have your phone?" he asked.

"This isn't the time Tai!" Matt shouted incredulously.

"No, I need you to call Izzy and get him and Yolei to the gate. Tell him we'll meet them there because there's no way we can get through this mess to get to where they are now." Tai responded authoritatively.

"Oh, sorry, I'm on it." Matt replied.

"Guys, we're sitting ducks here, we need to keep moving." Sora exclaimed.

Nodding, Tai led them around the edge of the courtyard where there was far less commotion. The undead seemed to be clustering in the middle of the courtyard and the couple that were on the fringes were too preoccupied with their current victims to bother with the Digidestined. Matt had gotten onto Izzy and had told him the rendezvous point. Luckily for him and Yolei, their path to the front gate was clear.

After two minutes of sprinting and dodging, they all made it out of the school grounds. Tai observed Yolei and Izzy; both were visibly shaken by what they had witnessed. Everyone else was the same. Even Tai was still distressed over what had happened. But Tai also knew that it was his responsibility to lead them, no matter what he was feeling. They were all depending on him to make the right decisions and see them through. Tai decided that for now they needed to take a moment to figure out what was going on and plan their next move. Seeing a café across the street that was open, Tai directed them all toward it. The café was utterly deserted, but the telltale signs of a violent struggle were evident. Once safely inside with the door shut, Tai motioned for them to all take a knee.

"Izzy, Yolei, what happened in your building? How did you guys get out?" he asked.

The two were silent for about twenty seconds, though it seemed like a lifetime as they constantly glanced in all directions looking for threats. Fortunately, there were none they could see for the time being. Finally, Izzy spoke up.

"We heard screaming, but had no idea what it was about. After that, those… those things stormed our building. We got out safely, but our classes were swarmed… We witnessed a lot of people we knew die." he said mournfully.

Tai noticed that for once Izzy had spoken simply, and when that happened the situation was bad.

"Well at least we're all together." Yolei said weakly, but optimistically.

Then something in Tai's mind clicked. The man, or thing, that spread whatever this plague was had come from outside of the school. This catastrophe was likely happening in other areas, possibly all over Odaiba and beyond. Tai's mind then rested on one thought: the others.

"No, we're not all together. We need to get to the junior high school and get the younger guys!" Tai exclaimed.

It seemed that the thought had only just dawned on the others as well. Matt's face paled at the thought of T.K. being in danger and Tai had the same thought about Kari.

"Shit, you're right. We need to get there now; T.K. and the others could be in serious danger!" Matt declared.

"But what about Ken and Joe? Ken's school is halfway across town and Joe's probably at home studying." Izzy interjected, a little flustered by how fast the discussion was moving toward action.

"We'll have to contact them by phone, our focus for now has to be Kari, T.K., Davis and Cody." Tai stated firmly, "If we're going to reach them we need to move-"

"Um, guys. Not to rush you or anything, but LOOK AT THAT!" Mimi shrieked as she pointed out the window.

They all snapped their gazes to where Mimi was pointing and their jaws all simultaneously dropped in horror. The street was now flooded with the undead, most of which seemed to have come out of the high school. There were dozens of the monsters, all with the same dead white eyes and waxy grey skin. The Digidestined all held their breath, hoping against hope that they were still safely hidden away from this horde of demon cannibals.

For a few minutes the mass of undead simply stumbled around the street blindly, oblivious to the terrified gazes of the six teens from behind the café window. After a while though, as if all under the same ghostly control, the entire crowd of infected began moving in the direction of the city centre. The Digidestined watched go, not making a sound.

"Fascinating, they move collectively, as if taking orders from some hive mind or similar construct." Izzy whispered to himself, although in the dead silence he was heard by the whole group.

Tai looked at Izzy and took the return of his complex vocabulary as a sign that he had at least partially recovered from the shock of the days events. This managed to lift Tai's spirits a little as he now knew that Izzy would be focused on what they needed to do; if they were all going to survive, the whole group would have to have that same focus.

"C'mon guys, we need to go and get the others. We'll leave out the back so we can avoid that lot." Tai said quietly.

Everyone looked at him and nodded. Tai forced a confident smile and led them to the back of the café. As he opened the back door and entered an empty alleyway, Tai thought briefly about the events of the day so far, what he had seen and what he and his friends may have to do to survive what could be an apocalypse. He couldn't shake the fear and uncertainty; what would they do after they found the others, and how long until this nightmare ended? What was certain in his mind was that things were definitely going to get worse before they got better.


	3. Chapter 3: No Way Out

**Alright, here's chapter 3. I'm not really sure how I feel about how this one turned out, but overall it serves its purpose in the overall plot. This took a little longer for me to finish and post, but the week and a bit gap is probably what it will be in future, give or take a few days.**

**Thanks to AsoenixKristian for the sub and Vigatus and KoumiLoccness (again) for the comments. **

**Just to quickly answer KoumiLoccness' question, I'm sorry but there won't be any Koumi in this particular fic. I planned this out, start to finish, to be just a Taiora and Takari and I would like to keep to that concept. What I will do is have my next fic (which I will get to after this one is finished) include some Koumi.**

**So, without further ado, here's chapter 3. If you have any comments on the story you'd like to give, feel free to review after reading. Enjoy.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Digimon or any of the characters, they are the property of Toei Animation.**

It was just another day of class for T.K. as he doodled in his exercise book and daydreamed as the substitute teacher stumbled through their set lesson plan. T.K. normally enjoyed English but it didn't help that the fill-in had no idea what he was doing. In light of this, the blond teenager had tuned out half an hour ago and was now mentally counting down to recess. After what seemed like forever, the school bell chimed and signalled the end of what was a poor excuse for an English lesson.

T.K. dashed out of the cramped room without a second thought and rushed to his usual meeting place with Kari. They had memorised each other's timetables and knew exactly where to meet each day. Kari had just had Art, which meant she would be just next to the trophy cabinet and T.K. hurried in that direction. Sure enough, leaning gently against the wall, fiddling with the digital camera she always wore around her neck, was Kari.

T.K.'s heart skipped a beat as he caught sight of her. Although they had been best friends for half their lives, his developing feelings for Kari presented T.K. with a dilemma. For the first five or ten minutes when they met up on any given day he would be incredibly nervous and every time he would have to get used to being around her all over again. It was a daily challenge for T.K., but one that he relished because if there was one thing, apart from his family, that he thought he couldn't live without, it was Kari.

T.K. took the five seconds before she noticed him to stare at her. She carried herself with an effortless grace and her face, with its gentle curves topped with her now shoulder length brown hair, was the personification of beauty to T.K. For him it was more than that though. She was smart, funny and, above all, kind and this was what T.K. loved most about her. He knew this was probably just teenage butterflies and he wouldn't always feel this way about Kari, but then there was also a something at the back of his mind telling him that his feelings were more than just impermanent, teenage angst. He was still young, but right now T.K. only had eyes for Kari, despite the fact that their extremely close friendship meant acting on his feelings would be a risky affair.

As that last thought crossed T.K.'s mind, Kari looked up and smiled at him. To T.K. the bland school hallway was lit up by the simple upward movement of her lips and his heart jumped in his chest. After five seconds T.K. noticed that he was still standing there with a stupid, self-satisfied grin on his face so he approached her a little faster than normal, his cheeks reddening in embarrassment. Kari hadn't seemed to notice though, and she greeted him like normal with a friendly hug.

"Hey T.K., sorry I didn't catch you before class this morning, my photography club meeting went overtime and I got to class late." she said apologetically, "Mr Nezu wasn't to happy with me." she added sheepishly.

"No don't be sorry, it's OK, you're here now aren't you" T.K. replied quickly with a warm smile.

Kari smiled back. "Thanks T.K., you're the best."

T.K.'s face warmed up when he heard Kari's reply and he scrambled for something to say before he lost his nerve.

"So, ahhh, you, um… you wanna get something from the cafeteria?" T.K. finally asked.

Kari continued to smile at him. "Sure, Cody and Davis are probably there already."

As they both made their way to the school cafeteria, T.K. quietly let out a sigh of relief; Kari hadn't noticed his awkwardness, or at least she never made mention of it. T.K. just couldn't help it, she got to him so easily and in ways no one else ever had. For now he just counted himself lucky to have her in his life at all, never mind what he really wanted, as he was certain she didn't feel the same about him.

As they neared the cafeteria, T.K. had managed to compose himself and was acting naturally again and he and Kari were chatting away like they always did.

"What do you think about Davis and what's-her-name… ummm, the exchange student from Germany." T.K. said.

"Oh, you mean Gretel." Kari replied.

"Yeah that's right, I can never remember her name. So… her and Davis?" T.K. questioned.

"Ha, I remember the days when Davis wouldn't leave me alone. Now he keeps moving from girl to girl." Kari laughed.

"Jealous?" T.K. teased.

"Not likely. Davis is fun and all, but he has a serious case of annoy-the-hell-out-of-me syndrome." Kari said with a wicked smile.

The two laughed hard as they approached their usual table, where Davis and Cody were already sitting.

"What's so funny?" Davis asked.

"Oh nothing you need to worry about Davis." T.K. said, calming down from his laughing fit.

"Well maybe you could tell me anyway T.P." Davis responded, narrowing his eyes.

"Davis, you know perfectly well what my name is." T.K. said, raising an eyebrow.

"Yeah, I know, but I thought I could get something out of you if I annoyed you." Davis replied, flashing a grin.

T.K. chuckled. "Fat chance. It was one of those 'had to be there' things anyway."

Davis shrugged. "Whatever."

"Hey you two, did you have a good morning?" Cody greeted them in his uniquely husky voice.

"Hey Cody, yeah my Art class was great." Kari said smiling.

T.K. grinned at Cody. "My English class was horrible though. I mean some subs are bad, but this one took the cake."

T.K. and Kari quickly excused themselves to dash up and grab some food before returning and sitting down to talk with Davis and Cody. The younger boy had been practicing Kendo twice as hard of late and apparently his recent attempts to grow out his hair had not been met with acceptance from his grandfather, who had required him to cut it short again. As for Davis, his new girlfriend, Gretel, had needed to return home to Hamburg temporarily as her father had fallen seriously ill. On the upside, Davis' sister was on a school trip to Italy and wasn't at home to bother him for the next week and a half. Eventually, the conversation came around to the older Digidestined.

"To think, we'll be at high school in less than six months." Davis said whimsically.

"I won't be." Cody pointed out a little sadly.

"Oh yeah, I forgot. Sorry Cody." Davis replied guiltily, realising his mistake.

"It's OK Davis, I know you're excited and I can't blame you." Cody assured him.

T.K. smiled at his maturity. Out of all the younger Digidestined, including Yolei, he was always the most sensible and collected, which was astounding considering he was also the youngest.

"What do you think the others are doing right now?" Davis asked.

"Well Joe is probably studying at home, Ken will have Advanced Mathematics and I'm not sure about Izzy and Mimi, but Yolei has Geography and Tai, Matt and Sora will all have Biology at the moment." Kari answered his question.

"I wonder if they're doing anything exciting." Davis thought out loud.

"Oh you know them, never a dull moment." T.K. said grinning.

Just as he spoke a dull thumping was heard from out in the hallway.

"Huh, what's that noise?" Cody said, turning to face the cafeteria entrance.

"Dunno, sounds like someone's pounding on the front doors." Davis answered.

"You wanna check it out?" T.K. asked the other three.

They all nodded and stood up. Falling into step behind Davis, they exited the cafeteria and headed down the hall. By the school's front doors they saw the cleaner and a couple of teachers standing by the door, an air of tension hanging around them. Every second or two, the doors would shake violently as whoever was on the other side pounded on them. As they approached, one of the teachers, Mr Sakai, held out his arm.

"Sorry kids, but I need you all to go back to the cafeteria." he said firmly.

"What's going on sir?" Kari enquired, cocking her head to the left to see past him.

"We have some undesirables trying to get into our school and we think they may be dangerous. So for your own safety, I'd like you kids to keep away from here." Mr Sakai replied authoritatively, but after seeing the uncertain looks on the teens' faces he smiled and added lightly, "We've already called the police so there's nothing to worry about."

The four smiled and nodded politely before turning and making their way back to the cafeteria. As they neared the destination, they decided to just go and wait by the gym, where the older three had their History class, which was coming up next period. Outside, they stopped by a set of lockers and discussed what they had just seen.

"What was the deal with that? Undesirables? What is that supposed to mean?" said Davis, shooting his questions off rapid fire.

"Beats me. There's no telling who's outside right now." T.K. replied while taking off his hat and scratching his head.

"I don't know about you guys, but this has me a little scared." Kari said uneasily.

Cody grimaced, displaying some fear and uncertainty. "Yeah, they could be armed for all we know."

T.K. saw the wave of insecurity fall over the others, so he decided to lighten the mood. "C'mon guys, what are the chances that these people are that dangerous - in this part of the city in broad daylight? Besides, the school's already called the police so there's nothing to worry about." he said calmly, giving the group a reassuring smile.

The mood improved slightly with T.K.'s words. Kari in particular gave him a warm smile, telling him that while her concerns weren't disposed of, she appreciated his efforts. T.K. grinned at her and then turned to Davis and Cody, both of whom were looking a little less worried now.

Suddenly, a loud crash came from the direction of the front door, causing all four to jump in fright. For a brief moment there was silence before screams of terror and pain rang down the halls, instilling fear into all who heard them. The four Digidestined all glanced at one another and exchanged worried looks; whatever had been at the door had clearly broken in and it seemed they were right to have been afraid of it. T.K.'s gaze shot immediately to Kari, whose eyes had widened in fear and he subconsciously moved closer to her. He grabbed hold of her hand and began to pull her into the gym, beckoning the others to follow.

Just as T.K. opened the doors, a new scream was heard from the end of the hallway they were in. At the end of the corridor a girl, about Cody's age, had tripped and fallen. Before any of the four could move to help her, a seemingly crazed man pounced on her and, to the horror of the Digidestined, began to bite and tear into her flesh. The girl fought in vain while her body was ripped to shreds by her attacker.

Kari screamed and the boys all gasped at what they saw. T.K. was rooted to the spot. He couldn't think; he couldn't even breathe. The one thought that ran through his mind was to keep Kari safe. He squeezed her hand and dragged her paralysed form into the gym while Davis, who was on a somewhat similar wavelength, pushed Cody inside.

T.K. turned to Davis, who was trying to get Cody to move on his own. The boy was frozen. His limbs were stiff and his mouth hung open, his eyes still reflecting the dreadful scene he had just witnessed. Davis lifted his head and made eye contact with T.K.

"We need to find some place to hide! I don't know what the hell that was, but we're screwed if we don't find somewhere safe." he shouted urgently, his eyes flickering to the gym doors in fearful anticipation.

"We can hide in the storage closet – quick we don't have much time before that maniac finds us." T.K. exclaimed in reply.

Davis nodded and began to steer Cody towards the storage cupboard at the back of the gym. T.K. began to do the same with Kari, but she resisted him. He looked back at her and saw a look of determination in her eyes.

"We can't just leave all the other kids and teachers, T.K.!" she stated resolutely to him.

T.K. was torn by her words. Maybe they could help. Maybe they could protect the other students from the insane man and whoever else was with him. But on the other hand, they were just teenagers; they couldn't fight a full grown man. In the end, they'd just be putting themselves needlessly in danger. Plus, they had no idea how many there might be. For all they knew there could be a dozen cannibalistic psychopaths running around the school. Choosing his words carefully, he answered Kari.

"Kari listen, there could be lots of these guys running around, and we're not big or strong enough to fight full grown adults on our own. It's just too dangerous, so the best thing we can do is to keep ourselves safe." he said gently, but determinedly.

"But-" Kari started.

"No Kari," T.K. interrupted, "we don't stand a chance against these people and I'm not gonna let you get yourself killed out there!"

Kari looked hurt by T.K.'s words. She looked at him in confusion as her eyes began to well up with tears. T.K. immediately softened.

"Kari I'm sorry, I really didn't want to upset you, but I care too much about you to lose you. There's really nothing we can do right now but stay safe." he told her kindly.

Despite his words, the tears continued to form in her eyes. T.K. couldn't bear to think he had hurt her and all other thoughts were wiped from his mind. Without regard for the situation, T.K. pulled Kari into a tight, protective hug. She hung limp in his arms at first, seemingly shocked by his actions, but after a moment she returned the hug.

"Your right T.K. I'm so sorry I-"

"Hey! Unless you love birds have a death wish, I suggest you get your butts in here right now!"

The moment was shattered by Davis' impatient shout. T.K. and Kari realised they were still standing in the middle of the gym and the screams were still coming from outside, only now they seemed to be getting closer.

The two broke apart and rushed inside the storage closet and Davis slammed the door shut. Feeling around the pitch dark room, T.K. finally found the light switch and turned it on. Looking around, he saw that Davis had jammed the door shut with a chair.

"What if some others need to get in here to hide?" T.K. questioned nervously.

"Don't worry, there's a chip in this door so you can see out. We'll just check to see who's outside and let them in if they're friendly." Davis replied confidently.

Satisfied, T.K. looked around their sanctuary. Sporting equipment was piled up everywhere, much of it dusty. The room's light came from a pair of naked light bulbs, which hung from the ceiling, looking as if they would fall off at any second.

T.K then saw Cody. The young boy sat silently in the corner, clasping his hands together and breathing heavily. Filled with concern, T.K. sat down next to him and placed a comforting hand on his shoulder.

"Cody? Man, are you alright." T.K. asked, his voice full of worry.

Cody looked up at him and T.K. was shocked by what he saw. Cody didn't look like the frightened child one might have expected him to be in this situation. Cody looked older in this moment. He wasn't trembling or crying, he merely looked as though he had lived a lifetime in the last five minutes.

"T.K., I'm not exactly sure what I just saw, what that man thought he was doing. All I do know is that something isn't right. Even by our standards, that is not normal." he stated sombrely.

T.K. wondered how someone so young could possibly handle what had just happened; he hadn't even expected a response. But then that was Cody, mentally tough and mature.

"Are you gonna be OK?" T.K. queried, still with some concern.

"I'll be fine once the police get here and put a stop to this madness." Cody replied simply.

T.K. nodded and stood up. Davis was pacing by the door and Kari was leaning silently against the far wall. T.K. went over to her and stood with her. The two stayed there in silence for what seemed like forever, as the seconds ticked by on T.K.'s watch.

T.K. though about the things he said and did just minutes ago. He said he cared deeply about Kari. She hadn't seemed taken aback by this, so did that mean she had thought he'd meant it as a friend? Had she known what he really meant and felt the same way? Was returning the hug more than just a friendly gesture? And Davis had seen the two of them have their moment. Did he know what T.K. was feeling? The bigger question seemed to be how this disaster would affect everything.

T.K. groaned softly and ran a hand through his messy blond hair. His head hurt thinking about all that stuff. As he stood there with Kari and the others waiting for help to arrive, a fleeting thought crossed his mind.

"I wish Patamon was here." T.K. said mournfully to himself as the muffled screams continued, some coming from just outside their door.

* * *

><p>Tai led his group through the darkened and seemingly deserted junior high school, looking desperately for the four younger Digidestined. It was now three in the afternoon, four hours after the attack on the high school began. Tai's group had been forced to sneak past endless groups of undead to reach their destination in the hope of saving the younger four. Now, however, the chances of finding their friends alive were looking bleak.<p>

"My gosh, this is horrible." Mimi murmured in awe.

Many of the lights were broken, sparks falling from the shattered bulbs and dancing over the floor before fizzling out. Blood stains could be found smeared over every visible surface, and eviscerated human bodies and body parts were a common sight. The stench of death was heavy in the air, and mixed with the potent atmosphere of dread it was enough to make even the bold and spirited edgy.

The Digidestined had lived through and been part of conflicts unimaginable to the average person. They had seen close friends of theirs, like Leomon and Whamon, hurt or destroyed before their very eyes; they had seen first-hand the terrible toll Digimon attacks had had on the real world when Myotismon invaded Odaiba, and three years later with the Demon Corps and Owikawa. But even after all of that, they could not have been prepared for the sheer magnitude of death, violence and loss that they had witnessed in the last few hours. But despite their crippling inner fear and trepidation they pressed on, determined to find their friends and family safe.

Since entering the school the team had not found a single living being, human or infected. It seemed like with everywhere else, once the living had been wiped out, the undead had all single-mindedly moved on. Although no one wanted to say it, they were beginning to lose hope.

"C'mon, where haven't we looked in this damn place yet?" Tai muttered through gritted teeth.

"Tai it's OK, we'll find Kari and the others, you'll see." Sora said supportively.

Tai looked back at her and gave her a weak smile, but as soon as he turned his face forward again that smile disappeared. Tai cared for all of the Digidestined but out of all of them, aside from Sora, Kari was the one he cared about the most – after all, she was his little sister. She had been in danger before, but never like this, not when she was threatened by flesh eating monsters and without Gatomon around to protect her. Tai hated himself for even thinking it, but he was wondering if he would ever see Kari alive again. He just wanted to break down and cry, but he was determined that there would be no mourning until he knew for certain, one way or another.

Matt, however, was not to be discouraged. He maintained a look of steely resolve on his face; he was driven to find his little brother, no matter what. Tai wondered how he could possibly block out the reality that was staring him in the face. There was very little chance that the others were still alive, yet he seemed to think that it was only a matter of time before they found T.K. and the others, safe and sound. But then, Tai remembered, Matt had always been good at hiding his emotions. For all he knew, Matt could have given up inside. But he would never show it, not until they knew for sure.

"Tai, I think we need to face facts – they're not here." Izzy stated out of the blue.

Tai rounded on him. "What, so we give up on them! What's wrong with you Izzy!" he shouted.

"Tai, Tai calm down, don't yell or one of those things might hear us." Sora whispered.

"Yeah, I don't know about you, but I don't wanna be found by some flesh eating weirdo." Yolei added fiercely.

Tai looked at the others and sighed. He knew he shouldn't have lost his temper so quickly with Izzy, but his sister was still missing and he wasn't prepared to stop looking until he found her.

"I'm sorry Izzy… I just-" he started.

"No, no, no Tai, you misunderstood what I meant." Izzy hurriedly interrupted.

Tai raised an eyebrow at him. Seeing his confusion, and that of the others, Izzy clarified his earlier statement.

"What I meant is, we're making a sizeable assumption that T.K., Kari, Davis and Cody stayed here. They would most likely have extricated from the building and headed to safety, perhaps a police station or somewhere where armed personnel can protect them." he explained.

The other Digidestined took in what he said. He could be right; the school had definitely been attacked and staying would have been suicidal. They themselves had left their school grounds to escape the onslaught so it was only logical that the other four would have done the same.

"Maybe your right Izzy." Tai said finally.

"Yeah, we've looked everywhere in this place and haven't found them anywhere." Matt added.

The rest nodded. Tai motioned for them to head out of the school and they all headed towards the front door, where they had first entered the building. One of them, however, didn't move from her spot.

"Guys, there's one place we haven't checked yet." Yolei spoke up.

They all turned and looked at her, all with puzzled expressions.

"What are you talking about Yolei? We already looked in every spot someone could possibly hide in at this school." Sora said.

"Not everywhere – we haven't searched the gym." Yolei replied.

"But there's nothing in the gym, it's just one massive room with no place to hide." Matt pointed out.

"That was true when you guys were here," Yolei replied, "but last year, before I left, they demolished the storage room in the grounds and added one to the gym inside."

"Why didn't you mention this before?" Tai asked incredulously.

Yolei shrugged. "I just assumed we'd get there eventually and I wouldn't have to say anything."

The other five all sighed and shook their heads.

"A heads up still would have been nice Yolei." Matt said a little annoyed.

"Yeah… sorry about that." Yolei replied sheepishly.

"Forget about it, we need to check the gym." Tai announced, bringing the focus back to the younger Digidestined.

They all affirmed Tai's directions and fell into step behind him.

The passage leading to the gym displayed some of the worst scenes any of them had seen so far. Blood coated the floor and walls and bodies were littered everywhere in sight. Somewhat encouragingly, not all of the bodies appeared to have been of uninfected innocents. It appeared that some had managed to fight back and one or two bodies were of people clearly not from the junior high school, suggesting that they had been the attackers. But none of that changed the disturbing, horrific environment through which they were passing.

"Don't you think it's weird that we haven't seen a single one of those monsters since we walked into this place?" Mimi asked timidly.

"My theory is that they headed in the same direction as all the others we've seen – towards the city centre, I don't think that there would be any left in here." Izzy replied quietly.

"Then why are you whispering?" Yolei pointed out.

"There's always room for error." Izzy retorted.

They all fell into silence once more as they continued along the hallway to them gym. Still they encountered no one as they crept quietly through the halls toward their destination. The quiet and stillness was stifling, almost suffocating, creating a sense of insidious paranoia amongst the group; they were constantly looking over their shoulders, expecting some undead monster to jump out from the shadows at any second. After a few torturously long minutes, however, the Digidestined reached the doors to the gym.

They all waited with bated breath as Tai and Matt began to slowly and quietly open the doors. Before they could see inside the gym, however, they heard a muffled squeal of terror from the other side of the doors. Looking at one another and nodding, Matt and Tai burst into the gym.

* * *

><p>T.K. winced as the supply room door shuddered with the impact of another hit. He, along with Kari, Davis and Cody, had been holed up in the gym's storage closet for close to three hours now, and while the majority of the time they had been hiding was uneventful, that had changed in the past fifteen minutes. He and Davis had observed, through the hole in the door, a pair of the flesh eaters they had earlier run from stumbling around the gym.<p>

For a few minutes they had simply stumbled about harmlessly in a stupor. Their seeming docility was quick to change, however. Davis had suddenly sneezed. Normally it wouldn't have been very loud, but in the tense silence it sounded like a thunder clap. At that, the two monsters had looked straight in the direction of the door and had rushed towards it faster than it seemed possible for them to do.

Since that time they had been slamming their bodies against the door in an effort to break it open. The two showed no regard for their own bodily integrity as they repeatedly smashed themselves against the now greatly weakened door. T.K. knew that despite the fact the door was held shut by the chair Davis had placed under the knob, the two madmen could easily break the door down, so their sanctuary was far from impregnable.

"Where the damn hell are the cops! They were called here hours ago, so what's the deal!" Davis questioned furiously.

"Well if they're still coming, now would be a good time!" T.K. replied.

While T.K. and Davis had been watching the door, Kari and Cody had been searching for a way out. The room's single window, high on the far wall, had been the first port of call, but it had proved too small, even for Kari who was the most thin and slender of the four. Everywhere else appeared to be a dead end. There was only a single vent in the room, and it was too cramped for Gatomon to make it through, let alone a human. Apart from that there were no other available escape routes.

After thoroughly searching the storage room for any possible alternate exit, Cody and Kari finally gave up and both slumped against the wall and slid down to the floor.

"There's no way out – we're trapped." Cody said, defeated.

T.K. and Davis turned and faced Cody and Kari. T.K. immediately saw that while she was silent, Kari had tears running down her delicate face. She sat with her arms around her knees and her head facing the floor; she had given up.

T.K. went and sat next to her, putting his arm around her. He opened his mouth to say something to encourage her to not lose hope, but he stopped. They couldn't fight whatever these things were and if help hadn't arrived yet it wasn't likely that it would come any time soon. While they had chosen a secure place to hide, now that they had been discovered, they had no means of escape; there was nothing more they could do. For the first time ever, T.K. felt hopeless about their situation – he didn't know what to do.

Davis had sat down with them now, also lost to despair. T.K. looked over to him and their gazes met. They both understood that there was nothing left that they could do. T.K., as the bearer of hope, hated himself for it, but all hope had left him. He tightened his arm around Kari's shoulders and she leaned against him. Tears began to fill his own eyes. The end was near and he would meet it without ever knowing whether his family was alright, whether all of his other friends were safe and without ever having confessed his feelings to Kari.

As another impact was made onto the door, a large chunk came loose and hit the floor. A grey, bloodied arm reached through and thrashed around, feeling for any trace of human flesh. T.K. gasped and Kari squealed in fear as the door was slammed into again.

* * *

><p>Matt and Tai crashed through the doors into the gym and were met by the sight of two undead monsters in the process of breaking down the storage room door. Tai knew that the squeal had come from Kari, which meant the other three were probably close by her. What they had to figure out was how to get the two crazed undead away from the door.<p>

Matt was the first to act. Grabbing a discarded basketball, he threw it at the two undead in an effort to get their attention. The ball hit the one on the left in the head before bouncing off and hitting the other on the chin. The pair stopping banging and clawing on the door and turned slowly to face the older Digidestined, both with vacant expressions on both their faces.

"Matt what the hell was that supposed to accomplish?" Tai whispered, not taking his eyes off the two undead cannibals.

"I don't know, what was I supposed to do?" Matt replied quietly.

Everyone in the gym stood still, not moving an inch.

"What are they waiting for?" Yolei asked, a little louder than she had meant to.

As soon as the words left her mouth, the two undead maniacs bolted towards them, grunting loudly as they charged towards the Digidestined. Panicking, they all split up and ran – Tai, Matt and Sora towards the stands and Mimi, Izzy and Yolei back out the door. The attackers both seemed to slow down, as if confused by their targets splitting up, but they both soon chose to chase down the ones they could still see and went after the former trio.

"They're after us!" Sora yelled at Matt and Tai and they started to climb the stands to get away from their pursuers. The undead, while surprisingly fast runners, proved to be slow and clumsy when climbing up stairs and over seats. No matter how hard they tried, they could not catch any of the three teens. Nevertheless, they continued to hunt the trio with relentless and seemingly inexhaustible energy.

It was then that the scared and shaken, but very much alive, younger Digidestined emerged from their hiding place. Tai was the first to spot them.

"Kari!" he yelled upon seeing them as he kept running and dodging his attackers.

"Tai, it's you!" Kari screamed with relief, but also with fear seeing him being pursued doggedly by the pair that was trying to kill them only a minute ago.

"T.K., Kari, Davis, Cody! A little help would be nice!" Sora yelled at the younger teens as she too continued to evade her attackers.

Regaining the drive that they had lost when trapped in the storage room, the four looked for anything they could find to fight back. They couldn't find anything in the storeroom that could be used as a weapon, but they did manage to find two old soccer nets. If they couldn't fight the undead, then they'd just have to trap them. Grabbing one net between two, the younger four ran back out into the gym to find Matt, Tai and Sora still running from the pair of attackers.

"Matt, Tai, Sora; lead them over this way, we can trap them in these." T.K. yelled, waving the net he and Kari held.

Getting the idea, the three older teens headed for the younger four and the net holders readied themselves. As Tai ran towards them, he wondered if their pursuers would figure out what they were doing. Fortunately, the undead proved not to be very intelligent as the two nets fell down upon them. The two struggled endlessly against the intertwining ropes, but to no avail. The more they fought, the more hopelessly tangled they became.

Tai, Matt and Sora hunched over and panted, all tired from the effort of evading the undead. Matt and Tai however didn't get a moment of peace as their respective younger siblings both ran up and hugged them so hard they couldn't breath.

"Oh Tai, thank you, you came just in time." Kari cried into his chest.

"Kari, it's great you're alive, but if you don't let go soon I won't be." Tai choked.

Kari loosened the hug, but didn't let go of her brother. Looking over at Matt and T.K., a similar, if more masculine exchange was taking place, both brothers evidently overjoyed that they had found each other alive.

Sora smiled as she watched the siblings, but still remained wary of the two undead, who continued to struggle against the nets just a few metres away. Thankfully, there was little hope for them that they would free themselves any time soon. She turned to look at the door and it was at that moment that Izzy, Mimi and Yolei re-entered the gym. They looked out of breath and a little shaken.

"Where have you all been?" Sora asked.

"Well we-" Izzy began.

"Holy shit!" Mimi screamed as she caught sight of the two undead caught under the nets.

"Mimi, Mimi, calm down. They're stuck and they're not about to escape in the near future." Sora assured her.

"Oh, OK… but do we still have to be in the same room as them?" Mimi replied.

Seeing her point, Sora alerted Tai, Matt and the younger four and they all promptly left the gym and searched for an empty classroom to catch their breaths, finally finding one at the end of the hallway, just down from the gym. The room was darkened and eerily silent, but thankfully free of the undead. They others took a seat while Tai perched himself on the desk at the front.

"So what happened with all of us? Davis, how did you guys get stuck in that room?" Tai asked.

Davis sighed and related the events of the afternoon from the perspective of the younger four Digidestined. By the end, the entire group had fallen silent, awed by how helpless they had been. Throughout the story T.K. and Kari had sat side by side, unconsciously edging closer to one another as Davis retold their traumatic story. Tai noticed this, but put it to the back of his mind; this was not the time.

"Damn, you guys really had it rough. Are you all OK?" Sora asked with concern.

"We're fine now, but we'd all but lost hope until you guys showed up." Cody said solemnly.

"Well that explains you four, but Izzy, where did you Mimi and Yolei go when we split up in the gym?" Matt asked.

Izzy gulped and proceeded to share his experience.

"Well, when those two monsters came at us, we ran out the door. We weren't really thinking about what we were doing, we just reacted on instinct." he recounted.

"But why did you take so long to get back?" Tai questioned.

"Well we would have returned immediately if we hadn't encountered another one in the halls." Izzy replied.

"There was another one! Where is it now?" Matt yelled in surprise.

"Don't worry, we managed to trap it in an empty classroom. It took a bit of effort and manoeuvring on our part, but we finally managed to fool it into charging in there and we closed the door and sealed it." Izzy explained.

"Sealed it? With what?" Cody asked.

"The door opened outwards, so we toppled some lockers in front of it." Izzy answered simply.

"Well so long as we're all safe now, that's all that matters." T.K. said.

"But wait, what about Ken?" Davis asked, concerned for his friend.

"And don't forget about Joe." Cody added.

"We're not sure guys, but what we need to do now is get home and check that our families are OK." Tai said.

"But what about-" Davis began, but Matt cut him off.

"Joe's apartment building is on the way to all of ours, and he doesn't have any uni classes today so we can probably find him there. As for Ken, I've been trying to reach his mobile but it's not getting through and I don't have his home number."

"It'll be best to try again when we get to one of our apartments." Sora proposed.

"So what's the plan?" Yolei asked.

"I say we go one by one to each of our apartments and link up with our families. Once we do that, we can plan from there." Tai declared.

The others nodded, knowing that was the best they could do for now. There was safety in numbers and the sooner they found their families, the better.

They all headed towards the front doors, ready to sneak through the city until they reached their homes. Tai looked at his little sister. He was sure that this experience had scarred her, like it had the rest of them, and he scolded himself for not being there to protect her sooner. The thought of family shifted Tai's mind to his parents and the families of the other Digidestined, as well as Joe and Ken. Did they know what was happening? Surely they had to. But the more pressing matter was whether they were safe or not.

Grimacing at the horrible thought of losing someone close to him to this undead plague, Tai steeled himself. The day had been long and terrible, yet it was still far from over. But as Tai looked at the whole group, particularly Kari and Sora, he knew that it wasn't all bad news; at least some of the people he loved were still with him. He just hoped that by the time it was all over, they would all have lived to tell the tale.


	4. Chapter 4: Only Death and Sorrow

**Merry Christmas to you all, and while this chapter may be far from merry, I hope you all enjoy reading it – for what it's worth, consider it my Christmas gift to you. There's not much for me to say about it other than to give some quick responses to the reviewers, and thanks to Taichi14 for the story sub.**

**Ciel Phantomhive XiaoLang Li – I'm surprised to hear my story had such an effect on you, but thanks so much for your kind words. As to what will happen, I don't want to give anything away at this point (apologies). Thanks for the story sub as well.**

**dbzgtfan2004 – Thank you vey much and Tai and Sora forever, indeed (It's always good to know there are plenty of other Taiora fans out there). Cheers for the story sub.**

**Vigatus – Thanks and they'll figure it out eventually.**

**I really hope I haven't missed anyone, and if I have I apologise.**

**Enough of my rambling now – enjoy and if you have a thought or comment you'd like to share, please feel free to review.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Digimon or any of the characters, they are the property of Toei Animation.**

The sun had begun its descent and in an hour it would hit the horizon and slowly sink below it. The clouds no longer completely covered the sun's rays, but many still lurked menacingly in the sky, as if threatening to deny light to the terrified and confused humans below. The city of Odaiba was a ghost town, and as the Digidestined crept through the blood drenched and corpse laden streets they were rapt by the uncertainty of the survival of their family, their friends and themselves.

It had been an hour and a half since they had left the junior high school and the teenagers were beginning to grow weary, after a seemingly endless day of running, hiding and searching. But the next leg of their journey was coming to a close as they approached Joe's apartment building.

"It all looks deserted." Yolei said with a tangible sense of anxiety.

"I don't understand why we don't call his mobile." Davis pointed out, disgruntled.

"Joe doesn't have one anymore, he had to chuck his out because it went through the wash." Yolei reminded him.

"Oh, right." Davis replied, embarrassed.

"C'mon, we need to see if Joe is still here." Tai directed them.

"What if he's not though? What do we do then?" Cody asked worriedly.

"Then we try to figure out where he went and then move onto the next apartment." Tai replied stoically.

The others merely murmured an affirmation as they began the slow climb up the blood stained stairs. A couple of times they came across a body or body part. At these moments they found it hard not to be sick as they gingerly stepped over what once was alive.

"Why aren't we running into any of those things?" Matt wondered out loud.

"I theorise it's because no one's left alive in this apartment complex, or if there are, they've hidden themselves well – no food, no reason for those cannibals to remain." Izzy speculated.

"Way to lighten the mood Izzy." Mimi spat sarcastically.

"Hey, I was just raising a valid expl-"

"Shut up guys! If there are any of those things here we don't want to alert them!" Tai whispered, annoyed.

Izzy and Mimi both shut their mouths and continued to climb the stairs.

The group of ten soon made it to the ninth floor, where Joe's apartment was located. The open air hallway was deserted, with only a few dried blood stains to suggest anything out of the ordinary. As they approached Joe's door they noticed that it was slightly ajar, swaying back and forth ever so faintly. Tai could see that this wasn't good news and he knew that, like everywhere else, the apartment was not safe.

"I don't like the look of this." Matt said slowly.

"What does this mean for Joe?" Cody asked wide eyed, deeply fearful of what may have happened to the blue haired young man, who had been something of a mentor to Cody in the past.

"Keep it together Cody, we don't know anything yet." T.K. consoled him.

Tai knew it would be a mistake for them all to go in together. They would all be trapped like rats if they did that. However, they needed to find out if Joe was in there, or where he might have gone if it turned out he was not. There was no real choice; someone had to go in.

"Guys, we need to check Joe's place out, but it'd be stupid to all go in at once." Tai said.

"So half go in, half stand watch outside?" Davis guessed.

"That about sums it up." Tai answered.

"Alright, who goes in and who stays?" Sora asked.

Tai looked over to the younger Digidestined leader. "Davis, I want you to stay out here with Mimi, Yolei, T.K. and Kari and keep watch. I'm going inside with Sora, Matt, Izzy and Cody – got it?" Tai directed.

"I'm on it Tai." Davis responded dutifully.

"You lot be ready to make a break for it if we run into some uninvited guests in there." Tai ordered.

"As soon as you're out we'll-"

"No Davis, you hear screaming, get out as fast as possible. Do not try to be a hero, alright – and that goes for the rest of you." Tai ordered sternly.

They all looked at him in surprise, especially Davis. He had never been told to leave anyone behind before and he couldn't see himself doing it. Davis respected Tai greatly, but what he was asking was hard to follow. But then the situation was life or death like they had never experienced, and the instructions the young leader had received were, if terrible in consequence, the safest thing to do. Davis reluctantly nodded, as did everyone else. Words were not needed for this acknowledgement.

Tai nodded back and motioned for his team to follow him into the apartment. As Davis and his group moved back down the hall to wait by the stairwell, Tai's party slowly and silently slipped through the open door and took in the interior of Joe's home.

Everything was dark. The curtains were all shut, the lights all switched off. The only source of light in the shadowy gloom was the television, which was still switched on, but seemed to have been muted.

The atmosphere in the apartment was heavy and insecurity began to set in. But what they eventually noticed was that while the place seemed empty, there were no signs of any significant struggle. More importantly there was not a trace of blood to be found. The five teenagers scanned the front room and the connected living room and kitchen, looking for any signs of movement. After thirty seconds they were satisfied that this area at least was empty.

"We should probably check all the rooms." Matt suggested quietly.

"Yeah. I'll check Joe and his brother's room with Sora. Matt, I want you and Izzy to check out his parent's room." Tai directed.

"What about me?" Cody asked.

"Cody, I want you to give the living room a sweep. Check for anything that might help us find Joe." Tai replied.

"Right." Cody affirmed.

They all split off and began searching their designated rooms. Searching the bedrooms, the two pairs, while thankfully not discovering any bodies or lurking undead, found nothing to suggest where Joe or any of his family members might be. Cody, however, had far more luck in the living room.

"You guys, you'll probably want to come and see this." Cody called out.

The four came back out and found Cody intently watching the television screen. What they saw gave them little doubt as to where Joe and his family had gone.

The screen was covered by vertical bars of varying colours, mostly greens, reds, blacks and purples. These were the telltale visuals of an automated emergency broadcast. On the bottom half scrolled a message to all viewers, which the Digidestined read intently.

Seeing as the apartment was safe, Tai called in Davis's group, telling Davis himself to remain just inside the doorway so that he could continue keeping watch, but still hear what was going on. Izzy read out the scrolling text for everyone else's benefit.

"All citizens of Odaiba, make your way to the Odaiba Convention Centre as fast and as soon as possible. Pack only what is necessary. Police and Defence personnel will be on site to assist. Schools, government buildings and places of employment will be handled by the Defence Force – civilians should not attempt to find friends or relatives at these sites. Move quickly. Stay alert." Izzy read bleakly.

"So it's true. Whatever's happening is affecting all of Odaiba, maybe even all of Tokyo." Tai said grimly.

"Hmpf, great work getting to the schools." Davis spat with bitter sarcasm.

They all grimaced at his words, knowing first hand that the promised help had not arrived for them, or for their classmates and teachers.

"So Joe must have already headed there with his folks." Kari surmised.

"Yeah, looks like it." Matt affirmed.

The Digidestined continued to watch the screen for another minute, uncertain of what to think about the darkening situation.

"If the defence force is getting involved this must be pretty bad." Mimi murmured.

"Well I dunno about you, but hundreds of infectious cannibal monsters running around seemed pretty bad from the start." Davis said a little harshly.

Everyone else expected Mimi to hit back with a smart aleck remark of her own. However, she remained quiet. Seeing just how vast the terrible phenomena had become had sapped her of the will to argue. Noticing the darkening atmosphere, T.K. decided to try to instil a bit of hope in his friends.

"Hey guys, it's not all bad. If the defence force really is getting involved then they should be able to clean things up real quick, right? I mean they're professionals, aren't they."

No one answered him though. As promising as his prediction sounded, it did little to change the mood. Not until the Digidestined were reunited with Joe, Ken and their families could they breathe just a little easier. T.K. bit his lip and returned to silence, which was held by all until finally Sora spoke up.

"So what's our next move?" she asked.

"We should really try and contact our families at their homes and see if anyone is still there." Matt offered.

"I agree. I'm sure Joe's parents wouldn't mind if we used their telephone." Tai responded.

"If the landlines are still functioning, that is." Izzy pointed out.

"Well it can't hurt to try." Tai said with calm determination.

He picked up the Kido family telephone and found that there was still a dial tone. After giving the team a thumbs up, he punched in the first phone number, selecting Mimi's household as the first to try.

They all waited as Tai listened to the phone rings in his ear, anticipating that someone would pick up at any second. After half a minute, however, Tai reached the answering machine, indicating that no one was home. He shook his head at the group and they all sighed in disappointment. Mimi herself grew worried. Sure it meant that her parents had probably evacuated to the convention centre, but the uncertainty as to their fate remained in her mind. Next on the list was Matt and T.K.'s father.

"He won't be there Tai. He works at the TV station so he would know about the emergency broadcast. Plus he'd probably be looking for us. Home is the last place he'd be right now." Matt informed him.

"But if he knows about the broadcast, then shouldn't he also know not to go after you two and head straight for the convention centre?" Davis questioned.

T.K. turned to him and gave him a smirk. "If you think our dad is going to listen to some government order when he thinks me and Matt are in danger, then you clearly don't know him very well." he stated.

"OK, OK, point taken." Tai said irritably, "Whose family will be at home?"

"Mine might be." Yolei called out.

"And mine." Izzy affirmed.

"My mother and grandfather would normally be at home right now, so it's worth a try." Cody spoke up.

"Also try Ken's place, Joe should have his number in their address book by the phone." Davis added.

"My parents should both be at home too. Dad just got back from lecturing in Kyoto for the mid-semester break." Sora informed them.

Tai nodded at all of them. He knew that while his father would most certainly have been at work at the time of the outbreak, his mother would definitely have been at home, and with some luck she may still be there.

He dialled all of the other residences noted by the group first. Yolei's family did not pick up, nor did Izzy's or Ken's. However, on the final ring, Cody's grandfather picked up.

"Hello? Who are you? Why are you calling at a time like this?" Cody's grandfather's voice rang with experience and authority from the other end of the line.

"Sir, it's Tai Kamiya, I'm a friend of Cody's." Tai responded calmly.

"A friend of Cody's? Is he safe?" the man's voice softened, now becoming anxious.

"He's fine. I can put him on if you like." Tai told him.

"He's with you? My goodness, thank you! Yes, put him on please!" the old man said excitedly.

Tai handed the phone over to Cody, who spoke with him for a minute before saying his goodbyes and hanging up. The whole group looked at the boy, curious as to what was happening.

"I told Grandfather that I'm safe with you guys and that I'd meet him and my mother at the convention centre." he informed them.

"So he just let you go with us instead of going straight to him?" Sora asked, surprised.

"Well, he wasn't keen on the idea, but he said he understood that I had a duty to you guys." Cody explained.

"That does sound like Cody's grandfather from what I've heard." T.K. said.

"OK, Sora, do you want to call your place." Tai asked.

"No, you ring yours first Tai." Sora told him.

Tai was about to protest and try to be chivalrous, but then he thought of his little sister. Kari was probably worried beyond anything about their parents and calling home might set her mind at ease.

"OK, thanks Sora." Tai replied, smiling at her warmly.

She smiled back and nodded. Seeing this as his cue to proceed, he dialled his home number and, miraculously, his mother picked up.

"Hello, who's this?" she sounded uncertain, even a little scared on the other end of the line.

"Mum, it's me Tai." he said.

"Tai! Thank heavens you're alright! Where are you and where's Kari? Is she safe too?" his mother asked rapid fire.

"It's OK, she's safe here with me Mum. We're at the Kido's apartment right now." he told her.

"The Kido's? What are you doing there?" she asked a little confused.

"We were looking for Joe, but it looks like he and his family have already headed to the convention centre… Wait, have you seen the emergency broadcast yet?" Tai enquired.

"Yes, I've seen it. I was just about to leave when you called. I wanted to head out looking for you and Kari, but your father called home and told me to just go to the convention centre." she answered.

"OK Mum, we'll meet you there." Tai said to her.

"OK. Take care of your sister Tai and I'll see you soon son. Stay safe." she responded, and although Tai couldn't see her, he could tell she was trying very hard not to cry.

"It's OK, we'll see you soon." Tai said soothingly.

She whimpered slightly before saying her goodbyes and hanging up.

Tai slowly put the phone back onto the receiver and exhaled slowly. Hearing his mother in such a state was difficult for him to bear, especially when there was so much fear and pressure. He turned to Kari and forced a smile.

"Mum and Dad are fine Kari, they'll be waiting for us there." he told her gently.

For the first time since before the outbreak, Kari managed to smile, if only for a second. Seeing this made Tai feel so much better. Seeing his sister display just a flicker of happiness was enough to motivate him to press on. Before he could get lost in the moment, though, he picked the phone back up and dialled Sora's number.

The phone rang four times before someone pick up. On the other end, Tai could hear raised voices. From what he could hear, someone was listing off things to pack or something. The voice was indistinct, but Tai soon recognised it as that of Sora's mother. After all, it was hard not to recognise the voice of someone he had known since first grade when he'd first met Sora. After a moment, Sora's mother spoke into the phone.

"Who is this, we're kind of in a hurry here." she said hastily.

"Mrs Takenouchi, it's Tai." he said quickly, so as not to be hung up on.

"Tai! My goodness gracious, where are you? Is Sora with you?" she asked with evident worry for both Tai and her daughter.

"Sora's safe; she's with me and most of the others." Tai informed her.

"Thank goodness, well just hold on and-" she stopped.

"Mrs Takenouchi?" Tai called her.

"Hold on one second Tai." she said.

While it was faint, Tai could sense an undertone of fear in her voice.

While the sounds were muffled from the other end, Tai could still make out what was being said.

"Haruhiko, is someone at the door." Sora's mother asked.

"I think so." her father replied.

"See who it is, but be careful, OK." she told him.

There was a barely audible creak of the front door opening, and Tai had to struggle to hear it. What came next, however, came through the phone loud and clear.

"OH MY GOD!" Sora's mother screamed.

Her screams were followed by yells from Sora's father and the dull sound of the phone hitting the ground. Tai couldn't exactly make it out, but it sounded as if there was a fight taking place in the Takenouchi apartment. This continued for about twenty seconds before a blood curdling scream of agony rang out, chilling Tai to the bone.

"Mrs Takenouchi? Mrs Takenouchi!" Tai yelled into the phone.

"Tai, what's going on?" Sora asked fearfully.

Tai dropped the phone and turned to her slowly. She, along with the others, looked at him in frightened suspense, waiting for him to relate to them what he had heard. He stayed silent for a moment, trying to find the words. Finally, he spoke up.

"Sora, I'm not entirely sure, but I think your parents might be in danger." Tai told her.

Sora whimpered and the others all either gasped or winced. Sora continued to stare straight at Tai, looking as though she was lost and confused. However, she somehow drew up the strength to give some orders of her own.

"Tai, we have to go and make sure they're safe." Sora said forcefully, holding back her tears.

"Sora, I-" Tai began.

"That wasn't a question Tai." she insisted firmly.

Tai hesitated. Going to Sora's apartment instead of the convention centre would be incredibly risky. Then again, he could never personally refuse her anything, and she had a right to check that her parents were safe. Still, Tai couldn't, in good conscience, send all the Digidestined there. A compromise was needed.

"Sora, I'll go with you to your apartment and the others will go the convention centre. Once we've met up with your parents, we'll head straight there ourselves." he told her.

"Alright, works for me." she affirmed.

"Hey, you two aren't going alone – I'm coming with." Matt demanded.

"Count me in too." Izzy asserted.

"Thanks you two." Sora said to them with a faint smile.

"OK, four is enough. Now Davis, I'm trusting you to get everyone else to the convention centre safely. Can you do that?" Tai said, turning to his younger counterpart.

"You got it Tai, you can count on me." Davis responded with vigour.

"Alright, we all agree we'll all be together come nightfall." Tai announced.

"Right." they all said in acknowledgement.

As they all trooped out of the Kido apartment, Sora squeezed Tai's hand, drawing his attention.

"Hey Tai… thanks. I just… I need to make sure my parents are both safe." she whispered, betraying a rare moment of vulnerability.

"It's OK Sora. We'll find your parents and we'll all get to safety, I promise." he reassured her.

She smiled lightly and began to walk with a new sense of determination and resolve. Underneath that façade, however, Tai knew that she was terrified of what they were likely to find when they reached her apartment. Like him, he knew what she must be thinking. Would they find anyone alive when they eventually got there?

* * *

><p>Davis exhaled heavily as his group neared the convention centre. Theirs had thankfully been an uneventful journey from the Kido apartment. That did not change the fact that every second felt like an eternity to them. At any moment they expected a creature of the underworld to leap out of the shadows and inflict upon them the gruesome and excruciating deaths they had seen so many suffer that day. What was more, the unremitting anxiety surrounding the fates of Joe and Ken hung over the heads of the Digidestined, a constant reminder of just how vulnerable they were in their ignorance of this apocalyptic phenomenon.<p>

Glancing back at the teenagers following him, Davis saw the fear and uncertainty in all of them. T.K. and Kari were leaning into each other as they walked. While both were some of the strongest people Davis knew, it was clear that the support they gave to each other now was the only thing spurring them on. Mimi's normal jovial, prancing walk was replaced with a heavy footed amble, the joy and enthusiasm gone from her. Yolei and Cody walked side by side with their eyes fixed firmly on the ground they walked on, unable to look the others, or each other, in the eye. Davis himself no longer struck forward with his typical confidence. Hands in pockets, he shuffled onwards unable to even think of some simple words to raise the spirits of his friends. They all continued on silently, no words being adequate enough to express their horror and repulsion at the scenes they had that day witnessed.

Davis wiped his brow of sweat. The late afternoon sun was giving off its last rays of heat before it completely descended below the horizon. As Davis watched it slowly sink downwards, he wondered with dread what the night would bring. While he knew that all those movies he'd ever seen were pure Hollywood spectacles, he was still fearful that the night would deliver greater terror than the day ever could. Were the beasts that hunted their flesh creatures that thrived in the darkness? Davis shuddered at the thought. He hated to admit it, but above all he was scared. Not just for his friends but for his own safety.

Davis had always worried about the others, but, sure of his own invincibility, he had rarely feared for himself. Why he was only now acknowledging his own mortality was a mystery to him, and now that he could see it, he was amazed he had never noticed it before.

These thoughts fell to the wayside, though as they finally arrived outside the convention centre. Surrounding the huge building were dozens of armed men and women. They appeared to be a mixed unit of police, defence personnel and even private security guards, all rolled into one force. Davis had little chance to ponder the reason for this as a younger looking police officer approached them, sidearm pointed directly between Davis's eyes.

"Stop right there!" he yelled with authority, but betraying a hint of panic.

The Digidestined all instinctively raised their arms. Davis decided to speak up on their behalf.

"Don't shoot, we're not one of those crazy things." he insisted, frightened by the unnerved look on the man's face.

"Bullshit, prove it!" he yelled at them.

Davis cringed, unsure what he should do to convince the police officer. It was clear enough that they weren't infected as they could speak and weren't mindlessly attacking the man. But the young police officer seemed to be in no mood for logic or reason.

"Officer Nomura, stand down!" came a commanding shout.

They all looked past the police officer to see an older looking military officer approaching them from the convention centre steps.

"Colonel Takagi, I-" the young officer, apparently named Nomura, began.

"I don't care what you think you were doing – holster your weapon and stop pointing it at these kids!" Takagi bellowed, his eyes narrowed in rage.

Nomura quickly did as he was told, fumbling to put his handgun away.

"Now get out of here. Go back to your post." Takagi said in a calmer, yet no less furious, tone.

"Yes sir!" Nomura acknowledged before hurriedly making his way back, a clear expression of embarrassment on his face.

Davis and the others relaxed, seeing the threat had passed. Colonel Takagi looked with disdain in Nomura's direction before turning back and addressing the Digidestined.

"I apologise for him. Whatever this thing is, it's happening all over Tokyo, perhaps even all over Japan." he said ruefully, "The military bases suffered heavily from the outbreaks, so we're operating at less than half strength, and because of that we've had to take on board police and private security personnel to fill the gaps. Some are pretty green, if I do say so myself. By the way, I'm Colonel Ichiro Takagi, and I'm in command of the forces defending the convention centre."

"Sir, why has everyone been told to come here?" Davis asked.

"Well son, from what we can tell this thing is everywhere and it was decided that we needed a large structure to shelter as many as we could, all in the one place – this was the obvious choice." he explained.

"Can you take us inside, please?" Yolei asked weakly.

"Yes, of course. You kids are probably scared out of your minds. We've got plenty of survivors inside and we've got a constant trickle coming in." he answered, also muttering, "And if we can avoid shooting the survivors, that'd be great too."

Takagi led the Digidestined through the convention centre atrium and onto the main floor. Before them were hundreds of dishevelled and scared looking people, packed like sardines into the convention hall. Many were crying or clinging to family members. Most, however, simply sat in silence, seemingly unable to fathom just what had happened.

"You kids might want to look for your families and check whether they're here." Takagi said softly before returning to his post outside.

Davis motioned for the group to follow him and they began to weave their way through the many broken souls and separated families in search of their own. Finding anyone in this mass of people was a difficult task to say the least, but the Digidestined were now desperate to find their loved ones.

As they searched the convention hall, they could sense the despair and loss that emanated from many of the survivors. Most seemed lost, incapable of piecing together the events of the day, so terrible was their trauma. The hopelessness hung in the air like a sickening fog, infecting all who walked in it.

Just as they were about to give up, they came upon a sight that lifted their spirits for the first time in hours. Sitting together in a corner were their families, with the exception of Sora's, seemingly untouched by this plague. Looks of worry were evident in all of their faces, no doubt they had been wondering all this time what had become of the Digidestined. But what relived the teenagers the most was the sight of two particular individuals. Seated just off to the side, Ken and Joe spoke quietly to each other, unaware of the relief their appearances had given their friends.

Unable to contain themselves, Davis and his group rushed over to them, eliciting cries of happiness and respite from their loved ones. Davis and Ken were overjoyed to see their friends alive and safe and they hurried to embrace all of them. But it soon dawned on them that some were missing from the group. Mrs Kamiya was that first to bring it up, as she released Kari from a bone breaking hug.

"Kari, Where is Tai?" she asked simply, the anxiety evident in her voice.

"Yes, and where's Matt?" Mr Ishida added.

"And Izzy?" Mrs Izumi questioned.

"And guys, where's Sora and her parents?" Joe noted.

Davis and his group all had a sharp intake of breath. In all their excitement at finding their family and friends, they had forgotten Tai, Sora, Matt and Izzy. Now, as they came back down to earth, they all resented what they needed to now explain. Mimi, trusting herself, stepped forward.

"I think we all need to sit down, because I need to explain to you what's going on." she said gently.

Despite the kindness of her words, the parents of those who had not yet arrived let out gasps, fearing the worst. But still they all sat and waited for Mimi to speak. Taking a deep breath, she began.

"When we called Sora's parents and they answered… something happened."

* * *

><p>Tai, Matt, Sora and Izzy crept stealthily up the steps to the Takenouchi apartment on the fifth floor. On their way to the apartment building they had caught sight of numerous mobs of undead maniacs and had hidden to avoid them. Finally, after two hours, they had arrived.<p>

The sun was only just above the horizon, sinking slowly in the sky. Within the next hour or so the shroud of night would fall on Odaiba, blanketing all of its inhabitants in a foreboding darkness that would hide the terrors that stalked them. Tai shrugged off those ominous thoughts and instead focused on the purpose of their detour.

While Matt and Izzy had shared the odd word or two during their trek to the Takenouchi apartment complex, Sora had not spoken a word; not since they left the Kido's had she even opened her mouth. Tai sensed the dread that hung around her. She had always been one of the strongest people Tai knew and it pained him to see her like this. And he knew that what they were likely to find might just break what emotional control she had left. He prayed that such an experience would not come to pass, but, like the others, he was losing hope.

The apartment complex looked as if it had been hit hard. Bodies were strewn everywhere and blood adorned the walls, floor and ceiling. It appeared that the Takenouchi's neighbours had failed to get out in time to avoid the undead hordes. As to where these hordes were, not a trace of them remained, only the death and devastation that they had wrought. The building had been a killing field mere hours ago, and now the four Digidestined were treading through the aftermath.

Finally, they reached the fifth floor. As they moved down the hallway, they witnessed more gore and devastation. As they stopped in disgust and awe at the sight, Izzy could no longer hold it in and threw up against the wall. As Matt walked over to him and placed a hand on his shoulder, Tai looked over to Sora. She looked the same as she had the past two hours; silent and pensive, doing what she could to prepare herself for what she knew she could not endure.

After Izzy had recovered they approached the Takenouchi's front door. As they edged closer to it, they noticed that it was slightly ajar, a bad sign. However, when they stopped just outside it, a faint sound met their ears. It was barely audible, but as they listened they began to recognise the noise for what it was; someone inside the apartment was crying.

"Mum!" Sora breathed as she threw caution to the wind and bounded into her apartment.

"Sora wait!" Tai yelled after her in fear.

The other three ran in after her, only to find her standing stock still only a few metres inside the doorway.

Tai stared at the back of her head in bewilderment, wondering why she had stopped so suddenly. Then, however, he looked past her and saw what she had seen. Mrs Takenouchi was kneeling in the middle of the living room, kneeling over a battered and bloody corpse, a bloodied metal vase clutched in her hands. She wept uncontrollably, and as Tai pieced together what had happened, his heart sank with dread.

"Mum?" Sora said fearfully, barely able to keep herself from trembling.

Mrs Takenouchi looked up and saw the four teenagers standing before her. At this she began to cry even harder, losing control of her limbs and dropping the vase with a clunk.

"H-he w-wou-wouldn't s-s-stop! Th-that thing bit him, a-and then i-it was dead, but then h-he came at m-me! I di-didn't have a-a choice!" she wailed uncontrollably.

"Mum, what-" Sora began, before stopping and realising in shock why her mother was crying.

The corpse Mrs Takenouchi knelt over was badly beaten and bloody, with bite marks evident all down the left arm. But, when one looked again, the body started to look familiar. The greying hair, the black eyes that now hung half open. Lying before them was the unmistakable form of Haruhiko Takenouchi, Sora's father.

"Dad… no." Sora whispered.

She slowly shuffled over to her mother and her father's body, where, defeated, she dropped to her knees and began to weep uncontrollably like her mother. The scene was one of pure pain and anguish, which flowed forth from the two women as if from a fountain. Sora and her mother cried over the man who meant so much to both of them, as a husband and as a father. It was a sight that tore Tai apart, for the pain that Sora felt, he took on as his own.

The bushy haired teen instinctively moved to try and comfort Sora, but was stopped by a pair of hands gripping his shoulders. Looking around in anger and confusion, his eyes met Matt's, which displayed sadness and grief for his friend's loss, but also calm and understanding.

"Give her some space Tai, she needs this moment to grieve privately with her mother." he said softly.

Tai clenched his fists in protest, but then realised that what Matt said was right. Sora might have been incredibly vulnerable and in need of support at that moment, but she also deserved this time to mourn what was lost with her mother. She also deserved one final chance to say goodbye to her father, for this would be the final time she could spend with him. Tai cared too much for Sora to deny her that. Tears welled up in his eyes, but he did not let them fall. She meant everything to him and he longed to comfort her, but he also knew that what she was going through now was her battle to fight, one he had no business intruding on, at least for now.

Tai, Matt and Izzy all stood in the doorway for what seemed like hours. The two Takenouchi women had stopped crying eventually and now knelt together in silence, each clasping one of Haruhiko Takenouchi's hands.

"The sun is almost set. I don't want to disrupt them, but we really need to get to the convention centre before nightfall." Izzy whispered to the other two boys.

"Yeah. I think it's best if I get Mrs Takenouchi on her feet while Izzy watches the door. Tai, you should take care of Sora." Matt suggested.

Tai wanted to say something, but merely nodded in agreement. Sora had just lost her father, and now he would have to do something he thought impossible; get her to leave him. Tai approached slowly from behind. Carefully, he placed an arm around her softly as he knelt down beside her. Then, in the gentlest voice he could muster, he spoke to her.

"Sora, I'm so, so sorry. But now it's time to go. You have to say goodbye." he told her tenderly.

"No, not yet." she whispered weakly.

"Sora, please. It's almost night and we have to get to safety." Tai insisted.

"Please, don't make me go." Sora whimpered, tears threatening to fall once again.

"Sora, if not for me or yourself, do it for your dad. He would want you to be safe." Tai said softly.

At these words she sobbed lightly before nodding and rising to her feet with him. He hated using her father as tool to get her to leave. But he knew that there was little else he could say to get her to move.

With his arm still around Sora's shoulders, Tai looked to Matt, who had gotten Mrs Takenouchi to her feet. The woman looked as if she had lost everything. The energy, confidence and authority she had always had seemed to have disappeared and she stood limply, seemingly lost and confused. While she could stand unassisted, she looked as if she would collapse at any moment. Nonetheless, she began to walk slowly out the door, guided by Matt and Izzy, who had signalled that the coast was clear.

Tai drew Sora closer to him. He wanted to tell her that everything would be alright, but at the same time he knew he could not lie to her. Her father was dead, infected by and transformed into one of the undead and his own wife forced to bludgeon him to death in self-defence. What was more, it was likely that the same or a similar fate awaited them as well. There was no telling what would happen over the coming minutes, hours and perhaps days.

As Tai led Sora out of her apartment, she turned her head to look back at her father.

"Bye Dad. I-I love you." she whispered tearfully.

Tai stopped for a moment before continuing out the door again with Sora. He cursed the fates or whoever had sent this plague to Earth. So much had been destroyed and now the girl for whom he cared so much had endured a loss far worse than she deserved to suffer. The only question that remained for Tai was why.

* * *

><p>In a far off place, where only grey existed and fog covered the land like a cloak, a dark figure smiled malevolently, admiring the fruits of his labour. Vengeance was such a sweet delicacy, and the first blows against the Digidestined had been struck. What little time the figure had left, he would spend watching those he hated suffer and die, one loathsome human at a time.<p> 


	5. Chapter 5: My Burden to Bear

**Happy 2012. I am a couple of days late with the New Year's wishes, but nevertheless I hope the next twelve months brings good fortune to you all. I've taken a little longer to get this chapter out and for that I apologise, but between Skyrim, Modern Warfare 3, Battlefield 3, Christmas and a New Year's party it's been a little difficult to find time to write.**

**This chapter is a little slower and I'm starting to add perspectives from other characters, so everyone can be done justice. I haven't gotten to all the characters yet, but rest assured no one will be left out. Tai, Kari, Sora and T.K. are still sort of the main characters, this being a Taiora and Takari, but everyone will have their turn in the spotlight. Thanks to Ciel Phantomhive XiaoLang Li and Vigatus for leaving reviews/comments, again if you left a review and I missed you, my apologies. Please enjoy this chapter and, as always, if you have any comments or opinions, feel free to leave a review.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Digimon or any of the characters, they are the property of Toei Animation.**

They had been gone too long. Mimi sat on the canvas bed she had been assigned with her chin resting on her hands. She kept throwing worried glances at the main floor entrance of the convention centre, hoping against hope that Tai, Sora, Matt and Izzy would all return safely with Sora's parents soon. But time was swiftly running out. The sun had finally set just a few minutes prior and at that point the trickle of survivors had stopped arriving at the shelter.

Mimi had already endured the ordeal of informing the families of their whereabouts. The strained and terrified faces of the Kamiyas, the Izumis and of Mr Ishida and Ms Takaishi had torn her up inside as she had told them. She hoped never to have to break such news to anyone again. She was amazed that people like police officers did something like that all the time; once had nearly caused her to break down in tears.

Mimi thought about what they would do if they lost the four missing Digidestined. Tai was their leader, and while Davis had grown into his position of leadership in the younger group, there was no way he could replace his mentor. Matt had always been the counterbalance to Tai; cautious to a fault, he remained an invaluable member of the Digidestined even after Tai had calmed down and matured. Izzy was nothing short of a genius and his intellect had saved their lives more than a few times in the past. Sora too was integral to the team. She held everyone together and kept their spirits up. Compassionate and kind, but also strong and vigilant, she was unique in her ability to ensure everyone was in the best state of mind possible.

If any one of the four were lost, Mimi was sure that their team could not function. The others all played their parts too, and Mimi thought that maybe it was the same for them as well; if but one Digidestined were to be killed, the group would be unable to work the way it always had done. All had a part to play.

Mimi could see the virtues the others brought to the team. Joe was reliable like no other, Davis was fiercely loyal, T.K. had optimism and determination, Kari had exuberance and an accepting nature, Ken possessed an unsurpassed willpower and a mind that on some days could rival Izzy's, Yolei was energetic and enthusiastic and Cody was wise beyond his years. Everyone was irreplaceable.

Mimi's mind then returned to the missing four. What had they found when they reached the Takenouchi apartment? Had they even reached it at all? The scenarios playing in her head became progressively darker and were becoming almost too hard to bear. Mimi shook her head violently, hoping that this sudden movement might banish these dreadful thoughts from her mind. No matter what she did, however, the horrible mental images of her friends being killed plagued her without relent.

Her hands moved to her face, hiding the stressed and weary expression she wore. There was nothing more Mimi's body wanted at that moment than to drift off into a peaceful sleep. Her mind, however, would allow no such luxury, not with some of her best friends still missing.

As she looked up at the doors once again, the slightest whisper escaped her lips.

"Please hurry you guys; we can't go on without you."

* * *

><p>Matt looked up with a sigh of relief as the convention centre finally came into view as they rounded the last corner. The last seven hours had been some of the most trying in his life, rivalling the most desperate battles he had fought in during the digital world adventures. Now, he stood on the doorstep of a safe haven. Surely the nightmare would be over as soon as they got inside.<p>

He removed his hand from Mrs Takenouchi's shoulder, where it had rested for most of their journey. The woman had stumbled on numerous occasions already and Matt thought she may soon collapse. The loss of her husband had clearly hit her hard, and all of the energy seemed to have been sapped from her, almost as if her grief were some sort of parasite. So for the long, dangerous walk to the convention centre, Matt had needed to shepherd and support her, lest her strength give out.

Matt then turned his head to look at Tai and Sora. The pair had walked together since they left the Takenouchi apartment, and Tai had not removed his arm from around her shoulders. Normally Sora would have protested to this sort of coddling, but with the death of her father she had retreated into silence and apathy; her usually vigorous spirit lay dormant.

Tai himself also walked in silence. It was as though he had taken on board Sora's burdens; her pain seemed to become his. Matt knew that Tai had always done this to himself. Whenever Sora had been suffering, he had taken it upon himself to go through her trials with her, and for him, she had always done the same. In the past the two had always been so devoted to supporting each other, more so than any other two people Matt had ever seen. Now, however, the burden on one was so great that Matt was unsure if both could handle it in the same way they always had.

"We're almost there everyone, keep it up."

Matt quickly switched his gaze forward. The words of encouragement had come from Izzy. Matt hadn't given it much thought up until that point, but Izzy had dutifully led them through the danger of the undead infested streets of Odaiba. Despite his profound intelligence, Matt had never pegged Izzy as a leadership type. But, with Tai, himself and Sora all unable to lead, Izzy had stepped in and filled the gap with ease and without hesitation. Seeing the redhead take on such incredible responsibility, to which he was almost completely unaccustomed, made Matt extremely proud of him. He had come a long way from the insular computer nerd he was as a boy.

As they trudged up the convention centre steps, several of the guards, an odd mix of police, military and security personnel, approached them. The men and women fussed over the five, checking to see that they were unharmed and, more importantly, that they were uninfected.

As the guards inspected them, Matt looked over to Tai and Sora once again. They seemed as before, both silent and depressed, but something about Sora caught Matt's eye. She now stood apart from Tai, and while she still appeared to be lacking her natural energy, she no longer displayed the dependence on Tai she had had since they were at the Takenouchi apartment. In fact, the look on her face betrayed no emotion at all. Matt found this strange, but was left with little time to dwell on it as they were given the all clear by the guards and were told to move inside immediately. Their examination concluded, Izzy led the other four into the convention centre, where they hoped beyond hope that they would find their family and friends alive.

* * *

><p>Kari sat with T.K. on her bed, next to which, they had made sure, sat his. Both were worried beyond belief about their brothers, and about Izzy, Sora and her parents. With the sun now set, their anxiety had heightened to new levels and they both leant on each other for strength. They gently held hands and from time to time one would subconsciously squeeze the other's, as much a sign of affection as support.<p>

"How much longer are they gonna be T.K.?" Kari whispered gently into his ear.

"I wish I knew Kar." he replied softly.

The both sat in silence again. The quiet had been periodically broken by short spurts of conversation between the pair all evening. No matter what was said, though, it was never enough to break the tension and uncertainty and both would quickly return to silence. After a few minutes T.K. spoke up.

"What do you reckon Mimi's thinking right now?" he asked.

Kari looked over at the girl. She had just hidden her face with her hands and at first Kari though she was crying. But after a few seconds she lowered her hands to once again focus on the doors, revealing no tears or redness, just stress and fatigue.

"She's probably thinking the same thing we are; she's hoping Tai, Matt and the others get back soon." Kari answered T.K.'s question.

T.K. nodded, looking slowly to Kari. Despite the gravity of the situation, she blushed lightly under his gaze, looking at her feet to hide her reddening cheeks. Even now she couldn't help it. She had gone through so much with him by her side, and for some time now, she had yearned for more than just his friendship. She wondered, even with their futures so uncertain, if she should fess up to him about her feelings. Even if she should, Kari was unsure whether there was any point, confessing feelings she was certain he would not return. He had never seemed interested in her in that way before, so she did not deem it likely that he shared what she felt for him.

Her thoughts were interrupted by an exclamation from Mimi.

"Izzy, Matt, Tai, Sora! Thank goodness you're safe!"

Kari and T.K. both shot up and looked around wildly. Their eyes finally fell on the new arrivals and their hearts leapt with joy and relief. After hours of anxious waiting, their siblings and friends had finally made it. The two started forwards but were beaten by the parents.

The Izumis, the Kamiyas and Mr Ishida and Ms Takaishi all dashed towards and hugged their now safe children. Kari and T.K. came up next and embraced their brothers, overjoyed that they were alive. Kari, though, was the first to notice that something was wrong when their hugs were not returned.

Tai and Matt, as well as Izzy, stood not in happiness or respite, but with the weight of grief upon them. Kari, looking into her brother's eyes, wondered why this could possibly be.

"Tai, what-" she began, before she noticed Sora.

The redheaded girl was standing with her mother, whose look of sadness and devastation said it all. Mrs Takenouchi in particular looked as if she had suffered some great loss. Kari was perplexed as to why this may be, but then she remembered Sora's words from earlier that day. While they were at Joe's apartment, she had told them that her father was back home in Odaiba. Now, Sora and her mother stood before them, with Haruhiko Takenouchi nowhere in sight.

"Tai, where's Sora's dad?" Kari asked fearfully, already knowing the answer.

At this the other Digidestined and their families, who had crowded around the arrivals, all looked to Sora and her mother, and then to Tai who seemed to be very flustered all of a sudden.

"He's… We couldn't…" Tai stumbled, unsure of how to word his account of the evening's terrible events. Sensing Tai's inability to inform them, Matt spoke up.

"Mr Takenouchi… He was infected." Matt told them grimly.

Everyone gasped in shock and horror at what he had told them.

"Y-you mean Haruhiko is one of them?" Mrs Kamiya asked timidly.

"He was; he's… he's dead now." Matt explained, himself almost unable to get the words out.

"Oh no, Toshiko." Mrs Kamiya whispered as she hurriedly made her way over to Mrs Takenouchi, who she had been friends with for almost as long as Tai and Sora had.

The parents all followed Mrs Kamiya, rushing over to comfort Mrs Takenouchi in her grief, while the Digidestined all approached Sora. Coming up to her, none of them knew what to say. Joe, however, tried his luck.

"Sora, I'm so so-" Joe began before he was cut off.

"Where's the bathroom in this place?" Sora asked, her voice even and devoid of emotion.

"The bathroom?" Joe queried, bewildered by Sora's abruptness.

"Yes, that's what I asked, I want to wash up." Sora confirmed, still betraying nothing with her voice, but Kari noticed that her hands, balled up into fists, were beginning to shake.

"Ummm, it's over there, down that hallway to the left." Joe answered, now a little unnerved by Sora's behaviour.

The girl nodded and headed in the direction he had indicated without another word to her friends.

Kari watched the exchange in utter confusion. Sora had just lost her father and she was acting like nothing at all had happened, pushing everything away despite the clear distress she was in. Sora was not one to wear her heart on her sleeve, but she was always honest and forthcoming with her emotions. The Kamiya girl looked to the other Digidestined and saw that, apart from Matt and Tai who stood off to the side, they were all wearing the same puzzled expressions. Even Izzy who had been with her since she became aware of her father's death seemed surprised. While the others all discussed what had just transpired, Kari made her way over to Tai and Matt, dragging T.K. with her.

"Tai, what the hell was that? Has she been like that since she found out?" Kari asked aggressively.

"No Kari, she started acting like that just now." Tai answered her without expression.

"Then why are you acting so calm about it?" Kari questioned further.

Tai stayed silent for a few seconds before responding to her.

"Because I think I know why she's doing it." he said.

This piqued Kari and T.K.'s interest.

"Wait, you know why she's so… emotionless?" T.K. queried.

Tai looked past them, staring off into space.

"It's because she wants to be strong." Tai stated simply.

Kari and T.K. both baulked at this.

"That's it!" they exclaimed in unison.

"Guys, settle down will you." Matt told them.

T.K. and Kari both calmed themselves, but the Kari was not about to let this lie.

"Look, I don't know about you guys, but I'm taking Mimi and Yolei and we're going to speak with her." she said determinedly.

"Hold on a sec Kari-" Tai started, but was interrupted.

"Tai, she needs someone to talk to right now – she's grieving." Kari said, her resolve accompanied by the typical care and compassion she always displayed.

Seeing this, Tai relented. He nodded and gestured for Kari to proceed. At this, she dashed off, grabbing Mimi and Yolei as she passed them. Seeing them go, T.K. frowned and turned to Tai and his brother.

"Do you really think this is gonna work; that Sora will open up to those three and it'll all be fine?" T.K. asked with worry.

"No." Tai replied simply.

"Then why did you let them go? Surely it'd be better if you went to her." T.K. said to the Digidestined leader.

"It can't hurt for them to try." Matt said, answering for his friend as they watched the three girls disappear into the hallway that led to the bathrooms.

* * *

><p>Kari marched down the hallway, Mimi and Yolei in tow, and approached the door to the ladies restroom. As they neared it, the door swung open and an older woman shuffled out and headed back to the convention centre floor. Kari caught the door before it closed and strode in, in search of Sora. She did not have to look far. The redheaded girl stood hunched over one of the sinks, breathing heavily with the water running. Kari looked back at Yolei and Mimi who both nodded at her, indicating that she should proceed.<p>

Kari had always admired Sora for her care and compassion and many had said that the older girl had rubbed off on her, even considering the kindness the Kamiya girl had always been known for. Now that Sora was in need, Kari was not about to abandon her. She stepped forward and opened her mouth to speak.

"Sora, how-" she began.

"Kari, I've already told everyone that I'm fine." Sora interrupted, not turning around to face them.

"No you haven't. You've barely said anything to us and we all know you're not fine." Kari insisted.

"Sora, your dad just died, it'd be weird to not be devastated right now." Yolei stated.

"I never said I wasn't sad Yolei, but I don't need anyone to hold my hand right now, you got it?" Sora fired back, still not facing them.

"Hold your hand? Sora, we never said we wanted to baby you or anything." Mimi said, a look of surprise on her face, "But if I were in your position I know I'd need someone to talk to."

"Well Mimi, no offence, but you're not in my position and I don't have the same needs as you." Sora replied a little icily.

Mimi recoiled at Sora's response and Kari and Yolei's eyes widened in shock. Kari had known her for seven years now and she had scarcely ever seen her act like this towards anyone, and certainly never towards any of the girls.

"Sora…" Kari breathed, "We're just trying to help you."

Sora exhaled heavily. Finally she turned, slowly, and faced them for the first time since the three had walked in. Kari was surprised to see that she looked normal, as though nothing had happened. Her eyes were only slightly red, indicating that tears had not fallen from them for some time. While she had looked dishevelled when she had arrived at the convention centre with Tai and the others, she now looked as though she had cleaned herself up. If Kari had not have known, she would not have guessed that Sora had just lived through an undead epidemic and the death of her father in the space of an afternoon.

"Look I'm sorry. That was harsh and you didn't deserve that Mimi." Sora said sincerely.

"We only want to make sure that you're OK Sora." Mimi told her gently.

"I know, I know. But guys, I'm fine. Seriously, you don't need to worry about me." Sora assured them.

"But Sora, your father just-" Yolei began.

"I know Yolei, but I can deal with this on my own. I'm not a kid anymore and it's not like I'm going to have a breakdown or anything." Sora insisted.

Despite her assurances and ostensible stability, Kari noticed a few minor details that suggested otherwise. Sora's hands were still shaking ever so slightly, like they had been when she had walked off. Most noticeable though was her posture. Her stance, while normally upright and confident, had changed. Now Sora appeared to be standing rather slackly, and the usual energy she exuded, which she still had just a few hours ago at Joe's apartment, was now gone. Kari noted that the same was true of Sora's mother. What the mother and daughter pair held in common was always surprising to Kari. But despite Sora's efforts to appear composed and in control, the Kamiya girl knew that, in truth, she was really in need of help.

However, it was clear that Sora was not about to confide in them about it. Kari was never one to give up on her friends, but she also knew when she was fighting a losing battle. Besides, the worst thing they could do was to push her, and Kari was unwilling to risk that. If Sora was going to open up to anyone, it had to be of her own volition, and there was only one person who she thought could bring it out of her.

"Well if you do want to talk to us Sora, we'll be here." Kari said, forcing a smile as she turned to leave, eyeing Mimi and Yolei as she went.

Mimi seemed to understand what Kari was doing and turned to leave as well. Yolei on the other had seemed confused.

"Kari, what are you talking-" she started before Mimi and Kari each held one of her shoulders and shepherded her out of the bathroom. Yolei struggled a little until they made it outside into the hallway. Once the door swung closed Yolei broke free and rounded on her two friends.

"What the hell are you two thinking? Sora is not fine, she needs our help! You saw how… un-Sora-like she was." Yolei berated them.

"Yolei we know, but just think for a second." Kari told her gently, "Sora was in no mood to talk to us about it."

"And forcing her to talk to us right now isn't about to make things better." Mimi added.

Yolei seemed to calm down, but remained unconvinced.

"Well then, what are we supposed to do, wait until she comes to us? Considering everything that's happening at the moment I don't think that's about to happen." she told the defiantly.

"Exactly, so we need someone she will talk to." Kari replied.

Yolei appeared confused for a moment before she figured out who Kari was referring to.

"You think your brother can get her to open up to him?" she asked uncertainly.

"All I know is he's got a better chance than we do." Kari stated, her tone admitting a lack of confidence.

The three girls sighed and headed back to the main floor, all deeply concerned for Sora.

"Maybe next time we should just leave this mental stuff to a real psychiatrist." Mimi joked.

Kari and Yolei both smiled at her weakly, but not much could lighten their mood. Kari just hoped that Tai could get through to Sora, because she could not bear to see her friend defeated and in denial.

* * *

><p>Tai sat on his canvas bed, trying to figure out what he was going to say to Sora. Kari had told him how the girls' attempt to get through to her had gone and, as Tai predicted, they had failed to get her to open up. That duty now fell to Tai.<p>

It was an odd feeling for him. Normally Tai would not pry into other people's grief, as he knew that he could not realistically expect everyone to react the same way to the death of a loved one. With Sora, however, he believed his intervention was required. Her attitude was so atypical of her, and Tai was sure that if it was not for the outbreak she would be handling her grief very differently. To bottle it up where her natural reaction had always been to let her emotions out was unhealthy for her, and in such an apocalyptic environment everyone needed to be in a stable state of mind.

Tai hoped that while Sora had been unwilling to confide in Kari, Mimi and Yolei, she would allow herself to open up to him. If nothing else, the two had always known that they could trust each other. Confidentiality was one of the things the pair prized and if one were to share their deepest thoughts and worries with the other, they could always be sure that what was shared would not be spread around. Tai just hoped that he could rely on that trust now.

He had waited until Colonel Takagi had ordered lights out to speak to her. With the convention centre under military command the rules were strict, but the Colonel had assured the people that so long as they did not disturb others or obstruct the guards in their duties they could do as they wished. With most people asleep by this point, it would give Tai the privacy he would need.

The one thing that bothered Tai was his feelings for Sora. Was his infatuation with her clouding his judgement? He was unsure if he was blindly trying to help her, and in the process be her hero, without actually considering what was best for her. Was he just being selfish or was he actually helping her? Did she even need his help?

Tai batted these thoughts away. The Sora he knew was an incredibly strong young woman, but at the same time she had always drawn strength from the support of her friends in times of emotional crisis. This time should be no different. Besides, Tai had seen her when she returned to the group; stoic and tense, not engaging with anyone who tried to speak with her. Sora did need his help, and he was more than ready to give it.

Finally confident in what he was going to say, Tai stood up. Her bed was right next to his, but she had moved off into the atrium to avoid the others and have some privacy. Tai took a deep breath and headed out to see her.

* * *

><p>Sora sat silently in the darkened atrium. Through the glass doors of the convention centre she could see the gloomy outlines of the guards on duty, while the ones resting could be found littered around the atrium in small groups. They all left Sora alone, as with the few other civilians who had come out for some space and time to think. No one wanted to pry into anyone else's business, so she was left to her own devices, sitting with her back to the wall.<p>

Sora had seen her mother to sleep before she had moved outside. The woman had spent all the time she had been at the shelter being comforted by Mrs Kamiya and the other parents, shedding tears every so often. She had fallen asleep quickly after all of this, emotionally exhausted.

As for Sora herself, she was between two worlds. Every fibre of her being screamed at her to let everything out, to cry and cling to her friends for comfort and support, like she had just hours before. But another part of her demanded that she repress it all and be strong for the team, at least until the undead outbreak was resolved.

As they had approached the convention centre earlier that evening, Sora had thought of their situation. With seemingly all of Tokyo, and perhaps all of Japan, in total chaos, she could not become a burden to the others. Tai had held her throughout the entire journey from the Takenouchi apartment to the shelter; had they been attacked, Sora's dependence on him could have gotten him killed. She could not abide by that. She could not allow herself to distract anyone else or to become a liability to the team. She had to bury it all until this nightmare was over. Compared to the others she was insignificant and the needs of the group came first, that much she pledged.

Nevertheless, the urge to let it all out was a strong one. Her emotions fought to free themselves from entrapment. It was a struggle for her just to keep a straight face. Sora had rarely faced such a challenge before in her life, but she could not put herself before her friends, before her family or, she thought sadly, before Tai. She wanted to speak to him, to let him know what she was feeling, as the two had always done with one another in times of trouble. But she could not do this now, not when so much was at stake.

Still lost in her thoughts, she failed to hear Tai coming up to her until he had sat down next to her. Guessing why he had come, Sora threw up her emotional barriers.

"How are you Sora?" he asked softly.

"Absolutely fine Tai, you don't need to worry about me." she replied quickly.

"Really? I'm not convinced." he stated simply.

"Like I said, I'm fine." Sora replied through gritted teeth.

"It didn't seem that way earlier. You could barely walk without holding onto me." Tai told her.

"Well that was then and this is now. I'm fine, now please just leave me alone." she said, starting to become annoyed with him.

"Sora, you and I both know that's crap. It's pretty obvious you're not fine." Tai insisted coolly.

"Oh really? Please, in your infinite wisdom, share with us your reasons for thinking that." Sora snapped.

Tai shook his head wearily. "First of all you're getting defensive. Second, you've been on edge ever since we got here. And third, your father died this afternoon, and the Sora I know wouldn't just act like she didn't care." he answered her, remaining calm.

"The Sora you know? Well maybe, Tai Kamiya, there are some things you don't know about me, because you're wrong. I am not on edge, I am not being defensive and you have no right to accuse me of anything, especially that I don't care!" she almost yelled at him, catching the momentary attention of some nearby off-duty guards.

Tai closed his eyes and breathed deeply. He paused for a few moments before replying.

"Sora, I don't want to provoke you and I don't want to offend you, but please don't insult my intelligence. Lie to yourself, but don't lie to me, because I think our friendship should be worth more than that." he told her strongly.

Sora went to reply but stopped herself. Although she hated it, he was right. She could repress her emotions as much as she liked, but to Tai she owed nothing less than her full honesty, as he had always given her. She didn't want to be a burden, but Tai was not giving her much of a choice. She sighed sadly and looked at Tai with tearful eyes.

"What do you want me to say Tai? That I want to break down and cry? That I want my dad back?" she asked him.

"Sora, you don't have to say anything you don't want to. Just don't push me and everyone else away. We all want what's best for you." Tai told her gently.

Sora smiled softly. Despite the way she had tried to push him away he wasn't about to force her to tell him anything. As he lightly placed an arm around her, her heart skipped a beat and she felt her emotional barriers come crashing down. She didn't cry, but spoke freely to Tai, no longer caring about burdening him; he was all to happy to bear it.

"Why did it have to be him? Why my father? I barely ever see him with his teaching at university, and when he finally comes home and I can spend time with him… It's not fair." she said sorrowfully.

"No, it's not fair." Tai agreed.

Sora sighed. "Can you believe the last thing I said to him was for him to mind his own business about…" she stopped, remembering that before she left home for school, her father had been teasing her about liking Tai and not being able to say anything to him.

"About what?" Tai asked.

"N-nothing. I just hate the fact I never had a chance to… to…" she began, unable to finish.

"To say goodbye." Tai finished for her.

"Yeah…" she said before falling silent.

The two leant their heads against each other and sat in silence, remaining that way for a good hour. To the pair, though, the time passed like mere seconds, each being so comfortable in the other's presence. After a while, Tai lifted his head and faced Sora, who lifted her own to look at him.

"Are you gonna be OK?" he asked gently with concern.

Sora looked into his eyes, her own reignited with the same fire she always had.

"I think I will be, thanks to you. You're a great friend Tai" she whispered.

"You'd do the same, if not more for me." Tai told her smiling.

Together they slowly got to their feet and, arm in arm, began to head back to their beds to get some much needed sleep.

* * *

><p>Kari and T.K. both lay awake on their canvas beds having a whispered conversation. Kari had told T.K. about how she, Mimi and Yolei had gone trying to get through to Sora, and their discussion had largely concerned her and how Tai would do with his attempts. They were hopeful that he could get her to open up, but nagging doubts still plagued them.<p>

Kari knew her brother cared deeply for Sora, just as strongly as she felt about T.K., and while Tai might have been too short-sighted to see it, Sora shared his feelings. If anyone could help her, it was Tai, he who had shared so much with her, and she with him. They were soul mates as far as Kari could tell; few people were as close as those two.

"How long has it been since Tai went out to her?" T.K. asked in a whisper.

"Not sure, seems like it's been about an hour." Kari whispered back.

T.K. paused before replying.

"You think that's a good thing?" he queried.

"Knowing how unpredictable those two are, your guess is as good as mine." she answered.

The two fell into silence, both lying down and facing the roof. Thinking of how Tai and Sora were perfect for each other, Kari's thoughts moved onto T.K. and herself. While she was sure that there was no way he shared her feelings for him, she had long been working up the courage to tell him. The risk of destroying their incredibly close friendship was the only thing that held her back, but she had been getting close to confessing. Now though, with what seemed like an apocalypse taking place, the strength she had taken months to build up was slipping away. Now was not the time to pursue relationships. Telling T.K. now would make them both lose focus, and while they were in a shelter, that could quickly change. Distractions could all too easily prove fatal in the now hostile world that surrounded their miniscule island of safety.

* * *

><p>Unbeknownst to Kari, the same thoughts were running through T.K.'s mind. He too had been trying now for months to muster the courage to tell her his feelings. Recent events had put paid to those thoughts, however. While T.K. longed for more than just friendship from Kari, he knew that such distractions were risky in light of the outbreak. For the time being, he resolved, some things were better left unsaid.<p>

T.K. was about to wish Kari goodnight and try to get some sleep when he heard the main doors creak open slowly. He raised his head to see what was going on. Across the main floor he saw Tai and Sora, arm in arm, slipping quietly inside. T.K. could not see very well in the dark, but as they got closer, he noticed something different about Sora. She seemed more relaxed and she moved once again with purpose.

As the two passed his and Kari's beds Tai caught T.K.'s eye and, noticing the latter was still awake, winked at him. T.K. smiled back, taking this as a sign that all was well with Sora. Relieved, he rolled over to face Kari, who was already on her side looking at him.

"I think things went well out there." T.K. said happily, for the first time in hours.

Kari smiled and nodded. Exhausted but content that at least one problem had been solved, the two bade each other goodnight and quickly drifted off to sleep. Their rest was to be much needed, as the following day would be one of revelations and growing darkness.

* * *

><p>In a far off world a man of great age, yet who looked no older than thirty, waited restlessly on the deck of his house. He ran a hand through his long brown hair, which was tied into a pony tail that reached the bottom of his neck. Meanwhile he wiped the sweat off of his other hand on his long white, blue patterned robe. While the man was normally calm and cheery, even in the most seemingly inappropriate moments, what had happened over the past day had challenged even his optimism. It had been too long since he had contacted his otherworldly allies, and now he was to be the bearer of some of the worst possible news. As he rocked back and forth on the balls of his feet, a small, red beetle-like creature approached him.<p>

"We've almost managed to set up the necessary firewalls on the uplink. We'll be able to get through to them in just a few more hours." it said.

"A few hours isn't soon enough, they've been in the dark about the true nature of this catastrophe for too long. Is there any way you can speed up the process?" the man replied.

"I'm sorry, but we simply can't go any faster without destroying six months of work repairing this world." the beetle informed him regretfully.

"Very well. Thank you for all the work you've done, if not for you and all your helpers we never would have gotten this far so quickly." the man reassured his insect friend.

"Thanks, but I won't be happy until I know Izzy and the others are all safe and sound." it replied.

"Nor will I." the man assured him.

The beetle looked up at the man, who he had long considered a friend and the closest ally his companions had ever known.

"Do you think that they'll all still be alright when we finally contact them, Gennai?" it asked.

"That is for destiny to decide Tentomon. Let's just hope that fate once again looks kindly upon the Digidestined."


	6. Chapter 6: Old Friends, Old Foes

**Hello to you all and here is Chapter 6. There are some pretty big plot points in this chapter and from what some of you have been saying it may not cater to your expectations (I'll say no more, lest I spoil anything). I do think I might have crammed a little too much detail in, but I just wanted to get it out before I move on to the next chapter. I also have one point where I explain away something from the canon and it might seem a little clumsy, so if you have an opinion on that (you'll know what it is when you come to it) or on anything else, feel free to leave a review.**

**Just to reply to the reviews since the last chapter:**

**Aizawa Li Syaoran Vessalius – I just wanted to ask, your name in my review alert e-mails has been coming up as Ciel Phantomhive XiaoLang Li, but it comes up on the reviews page as the what I'm addressing you now as. Have you changed your username, are my e-mails faulty or am I just really stupid (sorry if I've been wrong all this time).**

**Mimato love 4ever – Thank you for your kind words. Personally I agree with you about the love triangles. I don't hate the concept but I think a lot of people abuse and bungle it, plus I generally prefer it when Matt's not in the way and it's all about Sora and Tai.**

**Romance, or at least drama, will take more of a prominent place in the next chapter or two, but the action will most certainly return.**

**Vigatus – I don't want to say too much regarding your predictions vis-à-vis Tai and Sora, but you'll see what I mean in a few chapters time. Suffice to say we shouldn't get ahead of ourselves.**

**Other than that enjoy.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Digimon or any of the characters, they are the property of Toei Animation.**

Sora awoke slowly to the sound of whispering. Her sleep had been restless, but uninterrupted and at the very least she felt reasonably well rested. She had dreamed on and off throughout the night. Some were of her father and his dreadful fate, but most were about her friends, and particularly Tai. Thankfully these dreams had contained no death or misery, so Sora took this as a sign that they would make it through in one piece.

Memories of the previous night flowed through her mind and she lightly exhaled. She wondered how she could have been so stupid. She had not wanted to be a burden on the team, but by shutting herself off she had worried everyone, perhaps even insulted them by outright lying to their faces, saying that she was fine. But Tai had made her see that; he alone had managed to get through to her. No matter how bad the situation, he had always gone above and beyond to help her. Sora smiled, knowing that while she wanted more, she was nonetheless grateful to have him as a friend. And maybe that was enough for her, as she thought he could never have feelings greater than those of friendship for her. Never more than friends, she thought and sighed.

Remembering the sounds to which she had woken up to, she sat up and looked to her side. Tai was no longer in his bed, but Izzy was sitting there, facing away from Sora, with Ken and Cody next to him. The computer whiz had his laptop sitting on his knees and was typing furiously while sharing a whispered conversation with the other two. Sora giggled to herself; even after all that had happened, Izzy still managed to keep his laptop with him. Sora then began to pay attention to their conversation, managing to catch some of it.

"Well who could it be?" Cody asked.

"I've never encountered a signal like this before. I can't fathom who could possibly be trying to get through to me." Izzy answered him hurriedly as he continued to type.

"Perhaps it's someone you know, but because of the situation they have to use a different method of getting through to you." Ken suggested.

"Possibly, but even so, this is nothing like I've seen anywhere on this planet." Izzy mused.

"Maybe it's not from this planet." Sora interjected, swinging her legs off the side of her bed.

The three boys all started in surprise and quickly turned around, finally noticing she was awake. Izzy was first to speak.

"Sora! I hadn't realised you were awake." he exclaimed, still breathing hard from the fright.

"Yeah, sorry about that. Why were guys whispering?" she said chuckling.

"We, uh, we didn't want to wake you." Cody piped up.

Izzy's expression softened and he placed his laptop on the opposite canvas bed, which belonged to Matt, who was also nowhere in sight. Ken and Cody also had sober looks on their faces.

"How are you feeling?" Ken asked.

"I'm feeling a bit better. I spoke with Tai last night and I think I've managed to at least make a start at sorting myself out." Sora replied softly, turning her face downwards, "I'm sorry for the way I acted yesterday. I just didn't want you guys to worry about me; I just wanted to handle it all myself."

"Sora, it doesn't bother us. We're your friends and it makes us feel worse if we can't help you." Cody told her, a hint of concern in his voice.

"I know and it took me too long to acknowledge that. But Tai managed to get through my thick skull, so that's half the battle." Sora told them with a faint smile.

"Well that's good to hear. Don't forget we're always willing to help." Ken assured her.

"Thanks guys." Sora said, her smile widening.

"It kind of figures that Tai would get through to you, though. Love con-" Cody began before Izzy hastily slapped a hand over his mouth.

"Love does what Cody?" Sora asked curiously after batting away Izzy's hand.

Cody opened his mouth to reply, but saw that Izzy was glaring at him menacingly.

"Umm, I was just gonna say that I love how you managed to conquer your fear and doubt." Cody said shakily, constantly glancing sideways at Izzy, who still had his eyes on Cody.

"Err, alright." Sora said, unconvinced, "I'm just going to go and freshen up."

Sora stood up and turned towards the bathroom before quickly turning back to face the three boys.

"Oh and by the way, is my mother awake yet?" she asked.

"No I don't think so. Izzy's mum came past about five minutes ago and mentioned that she was still asleep." Ken told her sympathetically.

Sora nodded. "Thanks, I'll make sure she's alright when I get back." she said before turning back around and heading for the bathroom.

Sora had not forgotten her mother during her own trials the day before. Although Sora had taken her father's death hard, she knew it would have been worse for her mother. Not only had she lost her husband, the love of her life, but she had been forced to kill his reanimated corpse. Sora shuddered at the very thought of it. At the very least, though, Sora knew that her mother was not bottling everything up. All that remained was to see if she would recover, and, knowing how strong a person her mother was, Sora was confident that time would bring healing for both of the Takenouchi women.

Sora's mind then switched back to the conversation she had just had with Izzy, Ken and Cody. It had all proceeded very naturally until Izzy had rather suddenly clamped Cody's mouth shut. What had he been trying to say? Sora was certain that his poor excuse for an explanation was definitely a lie. All she really had to go on was 'love' and half of another word. What could Cody have possibly been trying to say? Sora ran through all the possible sayings, phrases and sentences she could think of. Could he have meant 'Love conquers all'? She quickly dismissed that; that would just be ridiculous.

* * *

><p>"'Love conquers all'? I really can't believe you almost said that Cody." Izzy ranted, his attention now returned to his laptop.<p>

"Why are you so angry with me? It's true. You've told me those two fancy each other and it's pretty plain to see." Cody protested.

"I'm not angry at you Cody, but you need to be more subtle with this." Izzy explained, not taking his eyes off the laptop screen.

"I don't get it, why shouldn't we be telling them, they need to figure it out if they're going to get together – that is what you guys want, isn't it?" Cody argued, disgruntled that Izzy, for the first time that he could think of, was annoyed with him.

"Of course we want them to figure it out, but you can't just be blunt about it. I'm a computer geek and even I know that." Izzy replied.

"Give yourself a little credit Izzy." Ken said, chuckling.

"My point is that those two do need to be pushed in the right direction, but they ultimately need to figure out for themselves how the other feels about them. All of us have talked about it and that's where we stand." Izzy affirmed.

"Where was I during this discussion?" Cody asked, confused.

"Well it was really all of us at high school who discussed it… I suppose we really should have mentioned it to you guys as well." Izzy admitted sheepishly.

"It would help." Ken said, still chuckling from the sight of Izzy and Cody arguing, a rare occurrence indeed.

Izzy sighed and massaged his temples, placing his laptop back on Matt's bed. He was being too hard on Cody, especially because he was mostly unaware of what the older Digidestined had wanted to do for a while now. They had been discussing strategies to get Tai and Sora to fess up to one another, but they had not got around to testing any of their plans yet. He just wanted to make sure that the two were still unaware of the other's feelings when they put one of their plans into action.

Knowing Sora and Tai, finding out directly from someone else would just lead to one misunderstanding after another. They had to figure it out themselves. Izzy could just see their problems snowballing if they found out third-hand. Not that that was the reason most of the Digidestined had for not telling them outright. Mimi and Matt had said that the couple finding out on their own was 'all part of the fun' or something like that, a sentiment to which Yolei had enthusiastically agreed, calling it 'magical'. At that point, Izzy had just acquiesced, seeing no way to deter them from meddling in Tai and Sora's affairs. Izzy really could not understand what Mimi, Matt and Yolei were talking about, but seeing that he agreed with what they wanted to do, he had also agreed.

Coming back down to earth, Izzy turned to Cody.

"Look Cody, I'm not trying to have a go at you or anything, but we can't just tell them outright. Those two would just mess things up if we did and Mimi and Matt don't want to 'spoil the surprise'." Izzy told the younger boy apologetically.

"'Spoil the surprise'?" Ken interjected, raising an eyebrow.

"Their words, not mine." Izzy told him simply.

"But surely common sense would tell you-" Cody started, but Izzy interrupted him.

"That's just it Cody. When it comes to each other, those two don't have a shred of common sense in them." he said.

"But… Yeah, I guess I see what you mean." Cody admitted.

Izzy smiled. "Sorry again for lashing out." he said.

"It's fine, all this stuff is just really confusing to me." Cody replied, hanging his head, embarrassed.

"Hey, you're only just thirteen. And besides, we don't understand it any more than you do." Izzy told him with a small laugh.

"Agreed." Ken said with a smile.

The three laughed lightly, forgetting their computer dilemma momentarily, until a small beeping sound began emitting from Izzy's laptop. All three quickly whipped their heads around to look at the laptop.

"What the-" Ken muttered.

Izzy picked it up and scanned the screen. After a few moments his eyes widened.

"Guys, I think I've just discovered who's trying to communicate with us. Go get the others."

* * *

><p>Tai sat out in the atrium with Matt, practically in the same spot where he and Sora had been the night before. Like that night there were very few people in the atrium, most being off duty guards and the like. It was barely past eight in the morning, but Tai felt wide awake, a rarity for a person who habitually slept in until midday if given the chance. But then an apocalypse has a way of changing the rules one lives by.<p>

Tai had been telling Matt what had transpired between him and Sora the night before, leaving out specifics in respect for her privacy of course, and while Matt was curious, he knew better than to pry.

"Well it's great to see you've at least got her to open up." Matt said somewhat cheerily, flashing a calm smile at his friend.

"Yeah. I think Sora's accepted what happened, even if she's still in mourning." Tai mused, "In all honesty, I'm surprised how well it all worked out. She's taking it much better than I think I ever could."

"She did have her best friend beside her the whole time, and while that might not matter for most people, it made a huge difference for her." Matt told him confidently.

"Thanks man." Tai said, smiling.

Matt thought for a moment. Was this a good time to make suggestions to Tai about her? The older Digidestined had decided that any meddling with Tai and Sora was to be agreed upon first. This was a golden opportunity, however. Seeing as they had shared a remarkably intimate moment just a few hours before, Matt concluded that now would be an ideal moment, one he could not pass up.

"So… any progress with Sora?" Matt asked, trying not to be too blunt.

"What d'you mean? Isn't that what we've just been talking about for the last twenty minutes?" Tai asked confusedly, raising and eyebrow.

"No, no, no. I mean… well, you know…" Matt mumbled, unable to word his question properly.

"No I don't know. What are you talking about?" Tai question curiously.

Matt gritted his teeth, knowing he would have to just out and say it.

"Have you told Sora that you're in love with her yet?" he blurted out.

Tai's eyes widened in surprise, and he seemed unable to comprehend what Matt had just asked him.

"Have I… but, you can't… I never said… What?" Tai stumbled with his words.

"I asked whether or not you've told Sora that you're in love with her yet." Matt replied, returning to his calm, cool tone.

Tai didn't reply at first and Matt could guess why. While Tai had told him how he felt for Sora before, no one had ever used the word 'love'. Coupled with the occurrences of the last day, it was easy to see why Tai was so flustered.

"I-I never said anything about love." Tai finally managed.

"Hey, I'm just calling it as it is dude." Matt told him evenly.

"But, we haven't even dated or anything, so-" Tai began.

"Look, if it was any other girl I would agree with you, but you've known Sora for well over a decade now. You literally grew up together. It doesn't matter that you two have never dated or any of that crap before. You love her. Whether or not you want to say it like that is beside the point." Matt informed him confidently, eager for his friend's response.

Tai again stayed silent for a few moments. Eventually, he opened his mouth to speak.

"No, I haven't told her, and I don't know if I really should." Tai said, turning his face to the floor.

"What? Why shouldn't you tell her?" Matt asked.

"Matt you know why, you just said it then. I'm her best friend." Tai told him.

"So? How the hell does that make a difference?" Matt demanded.

"It's obvious, isn't it? If Sora doesn't feel the same way, or if we don't work out, she'll never look at me the same way ever again. Best friendship out the window." Tai explained, still not taking his eyes off the floor.

"Bullshit, it'll be fine. I'm sure that either way it couldn't hurt." Matt scoffed.

"Oh really? Remember when you dated her?" Tai said, raising his eyes now to meet Matt's.

Matt recoiled a little but replied without hesitation.

"Dude, that was for like two weeks and I still don't really count that as dating." Matt said, his cheeks reddening slightly in embarrassment at the four year old memories.

"What do you mean 'don't really count'?" Tai questioned.

Matt paused. He and Sora had never told anyone what had actually happened during the two weeks following the defeat of Malomyotismon. They had simply announced that they were no longer dating and that was the end of it. But Tai of all people deserved to know, so Matt decided to swallow his pride and fess up.

"Well, neither of us had dated anyone at that stage-" he began before being cut off.

"So? Neither had I… or anyone apart from Mimi really, and that's still the case for me." Tai insisted.

"I know, I know. But the thing is… well… I'm not sure how to say this." Matt admitted, embarrassed.

"Just say it, you're killing me here." Tai said anxiously.

Sighing, Matt looked Tai dead in the eye and told him what had really happened.

"The truth is, we both hadn't dated anyone before so we wanted to try it out with someone 'safe'. We never really had any proper interest in one another, it was just so we could… y'know… try it out." Matt confessed.

Tai baulked at this. Out of all the strange things he had expected Matt to say, that was not one of them.

"You what?" Tai exclaimed, eyes wide open and an incredulous look on his face.

"It was stupid and it doesn't make much sense, I know. But at that age we were just so unsure, and we wanted to be mature about it… so we thought we'd test it out." Matt explained, still looking thoroughly embarrassed.

Seeing that Tai was still in disbelief at what he had just been told, Matt explained further.

"Look, it was about a week before my band held our Christmas concert and Sora and I bumped into each other in town and went for coffee. The two of us basically got to talking about the subject and it came up that we were both curious, so we decided we'd both test it out. Then, at the concert, we 'officially' started it. Come two weeks after Malomyotismon, we'd both had enough and we called it quits." he informed his friend.

Tai was silent, seemingly in a world of his own. Matt looked at him curiously, wondering what could possibly be going through his mind.

"So the whole reason Sora didn't want to…" Tai mumbled.

"What are you-" Matt started before he realised what Tai was talking about.

Matt was unaware of the details, but he had heard through the grapevine, or more specifically his Digimon partner, Gabumon, who had witnessed it, that Tai, the very night of the Christmas concert, had asked Sora if she was free that night. Matt had not thought much of it at the time, but that was before Tai had ever told him how much he cared for Sora. Now, after four years, Matt finally put the pieces together.

"Oh fuck. You asked her out that night didn't you?" Matt said, slapping a hand to his forehead.

Tai simply nodded solemnly. Matt now started to feel the guilt flow through him.

"Dude I am so sorry, I never put two and two together. I never realised that… Damn it, I'm really sorry." Matt rambled apologetically.

Matt had never thought about it before, but now he could see that his goal of getting Tai and Sora together could have been achieved four years earlier if he had not have done something that was, in the end, fruitless and meaningless. But then it clicked in his mind, that if Tai had asked Sora out before, something was stopping him now.

"Hold on, if you confessed to her back then, why can't you just tell her now? Plus, even after everything I've just told you, I still don't see what you meant when you reminded me of the time I dated her." Matt pointed out.

"So you do count it as dating now?" Tai asked with a hint of bitterness.

"I'm being serious Tai, please just answer me." Matt told him seriously.

Tai sighed and stared into space.

"I never actually confessed anything to her that night, she doesn't have a clue how I feel." he said sombrely.

"But you just said you asked-" Matt started.

"Yeah, I did." Tai interrupted, "The thing is, I dressed it up as going to your concert together as friends. That's all I told her; I even said it didn't really matter whether she accepted or not. I'm pretty sure she didn't see through it."

Matt felt like banging his head against the wall. Tai had had the perfect opportunity all those years ago and he squandered it by being too shy to tell Sora straight. And how could Sora have not seen Tai's request for what it was. He might not have been there, but Matt knew that Tai was a pretty bad liar and of all people, Sora could tell when he was hiding even the smallest thing. Matt groaned in annoyance. These two really were meant for each other, seeing as they were both so oblivious. But there was still one question left unanswered.

"I'll beat some sense into you about that later, but that still doesn't answer what me dating Sora has to do with why you can't fess up to her." Matt told him sternly.

"Think about it, how were things between you and Sora following that?" Tai queried.

"They were fine." Matt answered quickly.

"Were they?" Tai questioned further, turning his head to look at Matt, a serious expression on his face.

"Yes, nothing-" Matt began before he remembered.

For about a year following their 'relationship', Matt and Sora had still hung out with the others like they always had. The difference was that they had barely spoken to each other throughout that entire time period. The two had avoided each other, not knowing what to say, and only time was able to fix their problems. Only after twelve months did the awkwardness start to disappear.

"Oh… that's what you meant." Matt murmured.

"You see," Tai said, satisfied he had made his point, "if I even try to tell her, it'll be the same thing but worse. I'm her best friend, plus, with what you just told me, your whole thing was planned out. How much worse do you think it will be for me? I don't think I could survive not being able to talk to her for that long."

Matt just sat there contemplating what he had just been told. It was true that Tai's fears were legitimate. He and Sora had barely spent a week without seeing each other since they met. Matt had no idea how either would cope with months, or longer, of being unable to interact properly. If that were to happen, it would surely crush both of them, especially now.

He was not about to give up, though. Tai might not have known how Sora felt, but Matt did. Where Matt had been Tai's confidant on the matter, Mimi had been Sora's, and she had confirmed that the redhead did indeed feel the same way. Like they had discussed, a push in the right direction was what the clueless pair needed, and Matt was more than willing to give it. Besides, seeing as Matt was part of the reason Tai and Sora were not already together, he figured he owed them.

"Look Tai, I'm going to be honest; I really think you should tell Sora." he advised.

"What? Haven't you been listening-" Tai protested, but was cut off.

"Yes, I heard what you said, but none of that really matters." Matt told him firmly.

"Doesn't matter?" Tai nearly yelled, drawing the attention of a few off duty guards.

"Look things were weird between Sora and me for a year, I'll admit that. But we were fourteen at the time. The three of us are more or less adults now and I think she'd be able to handle it with a little more maturity than you fear." Matt asserted.

Tai stayed silent, so Matt pressed on.

"This comes down to whether or not you trust Sora. So do you?" he demanded seriously.

"But… but is this really the time? I mean she's just lost her father." Tai protested, avoiding the question.

Matt had been expecting him to bring this up, and he was right. While she had calmed herself and had opened up to Tai, Sora was still emotionally vulnerable. It would be wrong for someone to take advantage of that, and Tai would rather die than abuse Sora's trust.

"Look, I'm not saying you need to fess up to her right away, but you can't wait forever. What with all that's happened, now may be the only time." Matt advised him, "You know her better than anyone, so only you will know when it's best to tell her."

Tai did not respond at first. His eyes had returned to the floor and a solemn expression had appeared on his face. Matt was surprised to see his friend's eyes watering, though no tears fell.

"I don't want to lose her. I don't care if she doesn't feel the same way; I just don't want to lose her." Tai whispered meekly.

Matt was taken aback by how vulnerable Tai sounded. Normally the leader of the Digidestined was so strong and resolute. Only rarely had he ever broken down, and now he seemed to be on the verge. This was proof to Matt of just how much Sora meant to Tai, and the blond wondered if perhaps he had pushed too far.

"Hey, man I'm sorry. I didn't mean to-" Matt began.

"No. No, it's fine. You're right. I'm just scared." Tai confided in him, regaining his composure.

"Scared? Tai she's no gonna reject you, and if she does I assure you that you'll still be friends." Matt reassured him, "So, back to my original question: do you trust her?"

"Of course I do." Tai said, his voice growing stronger.

"Then sooner or later you'll tell her." Matt finished, "And if you don't, so help me I will beat the ever loving crap out of you."

Tai smiled weakly. "You can try." he said lightly.

"Now that's the Tai we all know and love." Matt said happily, punching his friend softly in the arm.

The two chuckled lightly before they were interrupted. Ken dashed out from the convention centre floor, skidding to a halt just in front of the pair. Momentarily forgetting what they had just been doing, Matt and Tai both looked up at the dark haired teenager in bewilderment.

"Where's the fire Ken?" Matt asked with a small chuckle but, noticing the expression on Ken's face, he stopped.

"There's something you two need to see right away." Ken said urgently.

"What is it?" Tai asked curiously.

"I'm not sure myself, but Izzy will show you, come on." Ken said, beckoning them.

Matt and Tai both quickly glanced at one another before jumping to their feet and following Ken at a jog back into the main floor area. Matt made a point to nudge Tai as they went, drawing his attention.

"Don't forget what we talked about, OK?" Matt told him.

"Don't worry, I haven't." Tai replied.

* * *

><p>The Digidestined were assembled around Izzy, seated on the various canvas beds the group had been assigned, and they waited patiently for Ken to return with Tai and Matt to complete the group. For whatever reason the two had stepped outside it had taken them a good hour. Izzy resolved to ask them about it later. For now, there were more important things to worry about. Finally, Ken, Tai and Matt arrived and seated themselves on one of the available beds. Seeing everyone was present, Izzy began.<p>

"Alright, I'm sure you all must be curious about-" he began.

"Yeah, what's the deal Izzy; why all the fuss?" Davis butted in.

After receiving a glare from Yolei, Davis shut his mouth, allowing Izzy to continue.

"As I was saying, since this morning I've been detecting a strange signal on my laptop," he explained, "and from what I can discern, it appears that this signal indicates that someone is trying to contact me."

"So why so urgent" Matt asked calmly.

"Because just ten minutes ago I discovered who it is." Izzy replied.

"Who is it?" Mimi questioned curiously.

"An old friend." Izzy said smiling.

Izzy clicked his mouse over an icon on his desktop and immediately a video chat window opened up. On the display was the image of a man, one the Digidestined all recognised instantly. Sitting before them on Izzy's laptop screen was the unmistakeable visage of Gennai in his younger form.

"Hello Digidestined, it has been some time." he said in his typical calm, cheery voice.

"Gennai!" all the Digidestined except Izzy exclaimed in shock.

"I can see you're all surprised to see me." the digital being remarked with a small smile.

The others were all dumbfounded and remained silent. Izzy, on the other hand, spoke up.

"Gennai it's great to see you, but I'm afraid things have turned rather cataclysmic here on Earth." he said grimly.

"Yes I know. That's why I've contacted you." Gennai revealed, his tone now becoming grave.

"Y-you already knew?" Yolei said timidly.

The Digidestined all looked at their friend in awe as he gave a solemn nod.

"Yes. You see, this plague that is ravaging and infecting Earth is not of your world." Gennai told them.

"What do you mean Gennai? Is it from the Digital World?" Joe questioned anxiously.

"Not strictly speaking, no, but it is of digital origin." Gennai replied cryptically.

"Gennai, no offence, but could you please cut to the chase. If you know something important, the quicker you tell us the better." Tai interjected.

Gennai nodded. "You are correct, it is not my intention to waste time for every second now is precious."

Taking a deep breath, Gennai began to account what he knew to the Digidestined.

"This plague, disease, virus, whatever you wish to call it, finds its origins in a world parallel to Earth and the Digital World. You all know it as the Dark Ocean." he told them.

As the Dark Ocean was mentioned, Izzy noticed T.K., Kari and Ken all flinch. While Yolei had also been there once, it was these three who had been affected most by the dark, colourless realm. Ken's mind had once been corrupted by the Dark Ocean, a taint he had only shaken with time, energy and great personal loss. Kari had been consistently hounded by the alternate dimension in her younger years, culminating with her entrapment in the realm shortly after the formation of the younger Digidestined team. T.K. had less contact with the Dark Ocean than the former two, but it had been he who rescued Kari from that shadowy world and its sinister inhabitants. It had been then when he had feared most for his best friend and felt closest to losing her. Izzy himself had never visited the Dark Ocean before, but he could tell how terrible a world it must be by how uncomfortable the mere mention of the place made his friends.

"The Dark Ocean? But isn't that where…" Tai said fearfully, looking over at Kari.

His sister nodded in affirmation, a look of dread dawning on her face.

Izzy found this hard to take in. Apart from the strange dimension the younger Digidestined had entered during their battle with Malomyotismon, the Dark Ocean was the only world he could not monitor via his laptop. To have the threat come from a place on which he had little to no information was perhaps one of the scariest things that could have eventuated for him. Now he was in the dark, and there was only one source for the information he needed. Fortunately, that source was on the other end of the video chat line. Kicking his mind into overdrive, Izzy spoke to Gennai.

"Gennai, I need you to tell me everything you possibly can about the Dark Ocean and how it's connected to the current phenomena." he said hurriedly, preparing to record whatever he was told.

"Do not worry Izzy, that's what I'm trying to do." Gennai assured him, "Now where was I?"

"The Dark Ocean." Davis offered, impatience clearly evident in his tone.

Gennai closed his eyes and gave them a small nod. After a few seconds he reopened them and began to speak once again.

"Yes, the plague that is present now in your world came from the Dark Ocean." he said, "It is digital in nature and works in a similar way to the pestilence used by Myotismon to put the citizens of Odaiba into a coma like state during his first attempt to seize control of both worlds, only its effects are far more deadly."

The Digidestined all paled at the mention of their greatest enemy. Surely he had not returned to wreak havoc on the world and their lives once more.

"Like Myotismon… Does that mean that he's back?" Mimi demanded in a panic.

Gennai shook his head. "No, no my dear, Myotismon is dead and has been conclusively so for four years now." he told them gently, "However, this plague is the doing of an old enemy of yours. I assume you all remember Daemon."

The Digidestined gasped at the mention of his name. Daemon had been the only enemy that they had ever been unable to actually defeat, and they had been forced to banish him to the Dark Ocean four years prior. Now it seemed that the evil Digimon had not been exaggerating with his final threat to return and destroy them.

"So this is Daemon's work." Tai confirmed darkly, "What does he gain from all this senseless death and destruction?"

"I'm afraid this isn't as simple as gain and loss, Tai." Gennai said.

They all looked at him in confusion. If not to conquer the world, then what could Daemon possibly be doing this for?

Gennai sighed and looked directly at Kari.

"Kari, do you remember the beings who attempted to capture you while you were in the Dark Ocean?" he asked carefully.

Kari shuddered at the memory of those dark, slimy creatures. They were not the sort of beasts one easily forgot. Looking back at Gennai, she nodded.

"They served the master of that dimension, one who used to go by the name of Dagomon." Gennai continued.

"Wait, what does he have to do with Daemon?" Davis interrupted.

"More importantly, what do you mean by 'used to go by the name of Dagomon'?" Cody added.

"That is the point. By sending Daemon to the Dark Ocean, you Digidestined created a power struggle for the control of that dimension. As of just a few months ago, it appears that Daemon finally triumphed against his rival."

The Digidestined all sat stunned. They had never expected something like this. Izzy and Tai both spoke up at the same time.

"So what does Daemon want?" they both asked simultaneously.

Gennai looked sorrowful as they posed that last question. All the Digidestined watched him intently, awaiting the answer they were so desperate to receive.

"That is the hardest part of all to tell you." Gennai said, his tone heavy with dread and worry.

They all stared at him. For all the years they had known him, they had rarely if ever seen Gennai so negative.

"What Daemon wants is not power or conquest. For you see, he is dying." Gennai revealed to them.

"Dying? What do you mean he's dying?" Matt asked.

"The fight with Dagomon was long and took years for him to prevail. In the end, Dagomon knew he could not win, so in an effort to take his adversary with him, he corrupted Daemon's data and he is now slowly being deleted, piece by piece." Gennai informed them.

"How do you know all of this?" Sora asked disbelievingly.

"My friends, I have existed since the dawn of the Digital World and I have worked tirelessly to understand the various dimensions and their inner workings. Rest assured, I have my ways." he told them seriously.

Normally the Digidestined would take such words as a joke, but it was clear that Gennai was not joking. Besides, certain things he said were best taken for granted, they had found. The digital man took their silence as a sign that they wished him to continue.

"Daemon has very little time left. Through my surveillance of the Dark Ocean, I have studied his rate of deterioration and have calculated that he will fully expire within the next four to five weeks." he told them.

Izzy was confused. "I've never encountered any virus or program that could have such effects as you are describing." he insisted.

Gennai looked directly at Izzy. "My friend, you have also never encountered the Dark Ocean. The now destroyed Dagomon was capable of many strange and unheard of things before he met his end by Daemon's hand." the digital man told him.

Izzy nodded, but there was one other thing that needed answering. Tai, seemingly on the same wavelength, voiced Izzy's mental doubts.

"Wait, if you've been studying him for weeks, why are you only telling us this now?" Tai demanded.

Gennai looked at them sadly, his face filled with shame.

"I'm afraid that is where I have failed you. I never thought it would come to this, but it appears that I grossly underestimated the depths to which Daemon would sink." he said softly, unable to hide his embarrassment and feelings of disgrace, "The truth is, what he wants is you. He wants revenge for sending him to his doom in the Dark Ocean and he plans to attain it by killing you all and destroying everything you hold dear."

The Digidestined were lost for words. This Digimon, this monster, was destroying their world and killing countless innocents, all to attain his vengeance against them. So many had died and all because of a battle they could not win four years ago. They all sat in silence, unsure of what to say or do. Eventually one of them spoke up.

"So how do we stop it?" Ken asked determinedly.

Izzy looked back at the young dark haired prodigy. From what he had been told of the battle, it was Ken who had opened up the portal to the Dark Ocean in order to banish Daemon. It occurred to Izzy that because of that, Ken might now be seeing himself as responsible for not having defeating the evil Digimon outright. While he had largely put his past behind him, Ken had always had guilt issues surrounding his actions. He seemed prone to blaming himself for things that were beyond his control, and Izzy felt sorry for him, knowing how hard his friend was on himself. He just hoped that Ken was not doing that to himself this time around. Gennai's reply brought Izzy's attention back to the present.

"From what I can tell, the virus is being manipulated by Daemon personally and it appears as though it was initially released on Earth via an inter-dimensional rift that Daemon needed to expend a great deal of energy opening. Be assured that he is no longer powerful enough to do that again." the digital man told them.

"How far has it spread?" Matt asked worriedly.

"It seems that Daemon only had enough power to open a rift to Japan. Beyond the main Japanese island I have detected no trace of the infection."

Matt and T.K. breathed a sigh of relief for their relatives in France, and Mimi did so for her friends in the United States. At the same time, however, they were filled with an indomitable dread by the knowledge that their entire home country was the sole victim of this terrible act of vengeance. Gennai continued in their silence.

"From what I have discerned, the virus is not organic, but is in fact bound to Daemon himself. If he is destroyed, the virus can no longer exist." he informed them.

"But you said he would take over a month to finally die. We can't wait that long." T.K. pointed out with worry and fear.

"I know. That is why we must intervene." Gennai said simply.

Before anyone could say anything else, a group of twelve small monsters all barged their way in front of Gennai, clamouring to see the Digidestined on the other end of the line. At the front of the pack, a small orange dinosaur spoke up in a high, peppy voice.

"That's where we come in!" it exclaimed as a greeting.

"Agumon!" Tai called out happily, seeing his Digimon partner for the first time in months.

All the other Digidestined all joyously cried out the names of their own partners too. After the previous day so filled with death and loss it was a relief for them to see some of their closest friends again.

"This is awesome!" Davis cheered, "We can all go to the Dark Ocean right now and put that evil scumbag down once and for all."

At his words the Digimon all lost their looks of happiness. The light left their eyes as they all looked sadly at their human partners. This caught the Digidestined off guard.

"What's wrong? Is there something we missed?" Joe questioned, his tone betraying a growing fear.

The Digimon and Gennai all exchanged glances before Gennai finally responded.

"I am sorry to tell you this, my friends, but you cannot go with them to fight this enemy." he said solemnly.

All the Digidestined looked at him with incredulity. "W-what? But why?" Tai demanded.

"Daemon has sealed the Dark Ocean from the inside, and it will take a number of days for me to open up a portal connecting it to the Digital World, let alone Earth as well. Time is of the essence and so your Digimon will have to face Daemon without you."

"But how are they supposed to Digivolve without us?" Matt almost yelled.

Agumon spoke up, "I still have the digital core that Azulongmon gave me four years ago. I can go straight to Wargreymon all by myself." he told them confidently.

"But we couldn't destroy him with one mega and two ultimates. How will you fare any better?" Cody pointed out.

"Daemon is a shadow of his former self. His power now resembles that of a mid-level ultimate Digimon and by opening a rift to Earth he has decreased his power even more. He will be no match for Wargreymon, and with the other Digimon to help, his destruction is ensured." Gennai assured them.

"So what are we supposed to do in the mean time?" Davis asked bitterly.

"Survive, my friends. You must survive." Gennai told them.

While they all knew that Gennai was doing his best, they could not shake a feeling of abandonment. For the first time they would have to wait on the sidelines, powerless to help in the coming battle, one they would not even be able to see. Never before had the Digidestined felt so helpless. To Izzy, the feeling was foreign and terrifying.

"My friends, I am so sorry that it has come to this, but for now this is the best we can do. Please be safe and know that it will take us at least three days to fulfil our task. Until then, anything can happen, so remain on your guard." Gennai informed them, "There are dark days ahead of you, but remain strong as the team you always have been. I know that, through each other, you will emerge from this ordeal with your lives."

With that, the connection was terminated, leaving the Digidestined feeling more helpless and alone than they ever had before.


	7. Chapter 7: The Gathering Storm

**First off, my apologies for the short delay on this chapter. I meant to get it out about two or three days ago, but other things got in the way and I've only just finished it. I have had a disruptive week, but it should be relatively smooth sailing for the next month, I think.**

**Just to reply to the reviewers:**

**Aizawa Li Syaoran Vessalius: Thanks for the clarification. No need to be sorry, I was just curious. Also thank you for your kind comments and I have tried to bring out how I think the characters would act as they normally would with the addition of a few years to their ages and life experience (with slight personality and vocabulary adjustments to my own liking, mind you).**

**Vigatus: You shall see what happens in the Dark Ocean, but all in good time :).**

**Mimato love 4ever: I'm glad you liked the last chapter and thanks so much for the favourite.**

**Other than that I hope you enjoy this chapter and if you have any opinions or comments you'd like to share, feel free to leave a review.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Digimon or any of the characters, they are the property of Toei Animation.**

Sora was dead on her feet as she waited in the long line to collect a rationed lunch for her and for her mother. Waiting alongside her were the other Digidestined, who had all volunteered to collect the food for their families. The initial intention was to give them all a chance to talk and discuss their conversation with Gennai, which had concluded a little over three hours previous. However, the group remained silent, a clear indicator that they had not yet recovered from the shock of what their digital friend had told them. Sora stood at the back of the group with Tai and Joe, while the other nine stood in front.

Sora herself was in two minds about the situation. On the one hand she knew she was among some of the most reliable and committed friends one could have. Tai and the others would lay down their lives for her and she for them. Her father may have passed from this world, but she knew that, with the Digidestined to support her, she would be able to make it through.

Despite that, there was the crushing possibility that the undead hordes that had taken over their city could be closing in on their refuge at that very moment. Moreover, the sadistic and vengeful Daemon, the architect of the entire catastrophe, was in a place they could not reach. Their Digimon would face him alone and the Digidestined were left to fend for themselves. Sora had no idea what to make of it all.

Only two things were keeping Sora focused. The first was, of course, her friends, but the second was her mother. Toshiko Takenouchi, while no longer weeping hysterically, was emotionally drained by the tragedy of the previous day. She had little energy to spare and had eaten very little for breakfast. Sora had been with her mother since she had woken up, not long after the Digidestined's conversation with Gennai had concluded, and the state the older woman was in worried her daughter.

Sora herself was still very much grief stricken, but where she had found a way to push past her sorrow and remain lively and productive, Toshiko seemed unable to come to terms with her loss. Sora knew that her mother's behaviour was understandable, if not expected of her. But with the masses of undead still roaming around Odaiba, such negativity and dejectedness could do them great harm in the event of an evacuation from the convention centre. Sora just hoped that if that event came to pass she could help protect her mother, as well as her friends and their families, from the horrors of the walking dead.

As the line moved slowly forwards, Sora could not help but wonder what all these other people had gone through. Most of them had doubtlessly lost loved ones and many had probably lost more than one. Sora considered her own pain and thought that if she had suffered so much it would be difficult to contemplate how bad it was for those who had lost more than she had.

However, despite the magnitude of heartache that was clear among the mass of strangers, the majority of people seemed to at least be calm and collected. Where the day before had seen masses of lost, mourning people, this day displayed a remarkable recovery among the crowds. Those who had sat in silence the day before were now up and about, dealing with their pain and misery and striving forwards. Almost no one sat idle in sorrow. In her eighteen years, Sora had never seen such a massive improvement in such a large group so quickly.

Seeing how so many seemed to be able to endure made Sora feel guilty about how she had dealt with her own grief. She felt a as though she had been selfish. Some had obviously lost their whole families, and yet they appeared no more defeated than anyone else. Deep down, Sora knew that her feelings of shame were unfounded, but she still could not shake off what she saw as her own weakness compared to others. Her head dropped to face the floor; she no longer wanted to look at those who were clearly stronger than she could ever hope to be.

Suddenly she felt a hand on her shoulder. Turning around she noticed that the hand belonged to Tai and her eyes met his and Joe's, both of whom were wearing concerned expressions.

"Sora what's wrong? You seem depressed all of a sudden." Joe questioned worriedly.

The redheaded girl looked around at all of the people crowded around them. Their strength and resolve were becoming more apparent to her by the second.

"Look at all these people." she said softly.

"Yeah, what about them?" Tai asked bluntly.

"Can't you see? They're all fine. They aren't moping around, even though I'm sure they've all lost so much. Then look at me. I was so weak and selfish that I couldn't even be honest with you guys without being pushed." she told them, her voice personifying her disappointment in herself, "We're the Digidestined; we're a team, and I'm supposed to trust all of you with my life, yet I couldn't even trust you with my feelings."

"Sora what are you saying?" Joe asked.

Hearing their conversation, Matt turned around.

"Sora, are you trying to say you feel guilty?" Matt asked with both surprise and concern.

Sora simply sighed and let them take her silence as an affirmation. Tai was first to speak.

"Sora, listen to me. Do not beat yourself up over this, it won't help anything." he told her strongly, his tone full of worry.

"I know, you don't have to tell me that Tai, but I just can't help it. I've done so many big things and gone through so much as a Digidestined, but if I can't deal with my problems any better, or even as good as the average person, what does that really say about me?" she said dejectedly.

"It tells us that you're human, for one." Joe said calmly.

Sora looked unconvinced. "You're not going to be shovelling clichés at me, are you Joe?"

"I'm serious Sora. I mean, look at me. I went through so many trials in the past about being more laid back and worrying less Look at me now! I still worry like hell about everything and despite all the battles we've been in and all the friends we've mourned I don't think I'd take the death of a loved one any better than you have." Joe told her confidently.

"Yeah, it's true - look at Matt as well; despite all he's been through he's still the emotional basket case he always was." Tai said with a smirk.

"Oh, and Tai's a great example too. Even after all these years he still rushes into things like an idiot - emphasis on the idiot." Matt fired back, also with a smirk on his face.

Sora giggled at the two of them and Joe shook his head, seemingly wondering if the two would ever let their old friendly rivalry go.

"I guess you guys are right." Sora said, her tone lightening, "It's just seeing all these people improve so much so fast…"

"Don't worry about it. Even if you were right about yourself, I think you've earned the right to be a little selfish for a change." Tai told her reassuringly, placing his hand once again on her shoulder.

"Well in that case, would you get the food for me?" Sora joked.

"Well, I wouldn't say you deserve to be that selfish." Tai said evasively, smiling mischievously.

They all laughed at that, their worries seeming to disappear as humour took hold. As the line moved forward again, Sora smiled to herself. She felt truly blessed with the caring and compassionate friends she had. She did not feel as though she deserved them, but it looked like they were with her for good and Sora could not have been happier. All she needed now was for her mother to get on the road to recovery and for the Digimon to deal with Daemon once and for all. Three days was all it would take. Three days before it was all over.

* * *

><p>Tai threw another furtive glance Sora's way as he sat with Matt, Joe and Izzy. The Digidestined leader had been with Kari and his parents while they ate, but he had moved to join the older guys after they had finished. Sora was still tending to her mother, who seemed as depressed as ever. It was not hard to see why; her husband had always spent long periods away from home as a university lecturer, and on one of the rare times he was able to spend at home he had been killed and reanimated before her very eyes and she had been forced to kill his undead corpse. Tai could not imagine what it could possibly feel like to have gone through what she had, to watch one's soul mate die and then return to life as a crazed, flesh eating monster. He stole another glance at Sora. If she were to suffer the same fate as her father, Tai was certain that he could not go on.<p>

While Tai was daydreaming about her, the other three were engaged in a conversation about what Sora had told them earlier, Tai, Matt and Joe having informed Izzy on what had transpired.

"For all she said about feeling guilty and selfish, it's really hard to see why she even thinks that about herself." Joe said with a sigh.

"I still cannot believe she said that about herself." Izzy commented.

"She's always been like that." Matt told them knowingly, "Sora thinks so much about others and what they're entitled to that she forgets to go easy on herself. She's never given herself enough slack and she feels obligated to never let anyone down, if you know what I mean."

Joe and Izzy nodded, remembering how Sora had been when they first met her just over seven years earlier. She had always been the first to offer her help when it was needed, but at the same time she had always had confidence in everyone but herself. They only had to think of the time she became trapped within her own dark emotions during the fight with Piedmon to see that.

"Yeah, you're right about that." Izzy admitted, "I wonder if she'd been like that before the three of us met her. Tai, what was she like back when she was six or seven?"

Tai simply sat in silence, his attention still firmly on the redheaded girl only a few metres away.

"Tai? Taaaaai?" Joe tried to get his attention.

Tai was brought back and his attention slowly shifted to the three boys he sat with. He stared at them blankly, oblivious as to what they had been saying.

"Ummm, what did you say?" he asked, still not yet fully focused on them.

"Seriously Tai? Have you been ignoring us all this time?" Joe asked with a flash of irritation.

"Don't mind him, he was just having his hourly drool session." Matt said mischievously, "You know how he can't keep his eyes off Sora's ar-"

"Finish that sentence and you die." Tai told Matt while glaring menacingly at him.

Matt simply smirked and held up his hands as if to claim innocence. Tai sighed and shifted uncomfortably on the bed he was sitting on. Izzy and Joe both laughed uneasily, unsure of how they should react to Matt's joke.

Despite the heart to heart that Tai had had with Matt that morning, he knew that the blond would still take every opportunity to pay him out about Sora. After all, what were friends if not to make jokes at your expense whenever they had the chance? Tai just shook his head, unwilling to dwell on it any further.

Matt saw Tai's expression and chuckled. "Hey dude, the sooner you tell her, the sooner I get off your case." he told him light heartedly.

"Well aren't you just the perfect little extortionist." Tai said sarcastically.

"Just trying to lighten the mood, buddy." Matt retorted with a chuckle.

Izzy and Joe just shook their heads at the pair's behaviour. Sora was still as hard on herself as ever and it appeared as though these two would always be on each other's backs about something.

"Unless you both haven't realised, Izzy's question still needs an answer." Joe said a little louder than normal to get their attention.

The two teenagers turned to face him and lost interest in one another. Tai rubbed the back of his head sheepishly while Matt simply leant back and smiled with self satisfaction.

"Er, what was the question?" Tai asked embarrassed.

"Well when I asked about three days ago, my question was whether Sora always expected so much of herself when she was a young kid, back when you first met her, like when you were both six or seven." Izzy said irritably.

"Oh. Um, I never really noticed it back then, but yeah, now that you mention it she was a little like that." Tai reminisced.

"Huh. I suppose that's just how she is and always has been." Izzy concluded.

Tai nodded. He remembered the soccer game that Sora had been forced to miss by her mother and how she had felt so responsible for her team's loss in her absence. That girl expected so much of herself, more than anyone could reasonably demand of themselves. Tai hoped she would grow out of it one day soon because Sora, least of all people, did not deserve to have that much pressure placed on her.

Tai's thoughts were interrupted by a crashing of doors and screams of pain. The eyes of everyone in the convention centre fell on the main doors and were met by a terrible sight. Three people were being hauled in, mangled and bloodied on stretchers, and their cries of fear and anguish chilled Tai to the bone. As the three wounded were taken off to a more enclosed space, Tai turned back to Matt, Izzy and Joe and was met by the sight of Joe's father who had run up to his son in all the commotion. The man was the image of Joe right down to the blue hair, only he was older and more heavily built; even his glasses were of the same design as his son's.

Dr Kido gripped Joe's shoulder and brought his son's attention to him.

"Joe, Colonel Takagi requested that I give my help in case of a medical emergency and this is certainly an emergency. I'd like you to come with me." Dr Kido said sternly.

"What? Why on earth would you need me?" Joe asked, dumbfounded.

"We don't know how many medically trained people there are in this shelter and you may need to help out." Dr Kido explained.

"B-but I'm no doctor!" Joe protested.

"Son, I know you're only in first year medicine, but that means you know more than most. I don't want to put too much pressure on you, but if we're short on people with medical training you will need to step in and help."

Joe gulped, a look of dread dawning slowly on his face. Tai knew how much Joe wanted to prove himself to his father, that he could be a doctor. Joe had chosen a medical career because he wanted to, not because his father expected it of him. However, with that choice, Joe had taken on a different burden. The young man wanted to live up to his father's reputation as a well respected and eminent physician. But with this challenge put before him so early on, Tai was unsure how Joe would react and cope.

As if to answer Tai's inward questions, Joe slowly nodded in affirmation of Dr Kido's request. The blue haired teenager rose to his feet and stood ready before his father.

"OK, let's go." Joe said with a confidence that took his friends by surprise.

Dr Kido smiled. "That's my boy, now come on we have to be quick."

The two dashed off, leaving Tai, Matt and Izzy all stunned. After about a minute, Izzy spoke up.

"Wow." he said in a rare moment of simplicity.

"Yeah, you said it." Matt said, still surprised by the speed of the exchange between father and son he had just witnessed.

They all looked after the two as they disappeared through a doorway on the other side of the convention centre floor, following the trail of the wounded. Tai knew that Joe was normally calm under pressure and reliable as they come. However, there was a nagging doubt at the back of his mind. The three wounded survivors who had been brought in all had obvious signs of being mauled by the undead, and that could mean only one thing; infection.

* * *

><p>Joe followed his father as the two rushed to aid the new arrivals. His heart was beating faster than it had in many years, and he felt as if he was going to black out from the sheer force of the adrenaline that was running through his veins. Joe was unsure what to think. In one sense he was exhilarated. He was filled by a sense of excitement that was completely foreign to him. He had always wondered how his father had felt when he had received an emergency call out of the blue and now he was experiencing the rush of it all. The knowledge that you could bring another back from the brink of death was a feeling like no other. While Joe had doubtlessly saved many lives with Gomamon back in the days of his Digital World adventures, this experience was unique. It made Joe feel strangely important; he had a role to play.<p>

On the other hand, Joe was also filled with trepidation. If he was needed like his father said he might be, there was no telling what he might have to do. For all he knew, his only job could be to make some complete stranger comfortable as they died. Could he handle that? Joe had seen death many times; he had seen it only the day before. Yet he had never seen the light slowly leave a person's eyes; never watched as someone's life gradually ebb away. And the blood; there would be blood everywhere. He had seen them come in, covered in that thick red liquid. Joe wanted to be strong, but in truth he had no idea whether he could cope.

Joe had little time to dwell on his fears, however, as he and his father finally reached the back room where the three wounded survivors had been taken. At first sight, Joe could see that he had been correct. Blood was spilling off of the tables where the stretchers had been placed and the three survivors were writhing in agony, screaming at the top of their lungs. Joe paled as he saw the deep wounds in their bodies, all showing clear bite marks where the flesh had been torn and ripped away. He clapped his hand to his mouth, fearful that he might throw up at any moment. At that time, only one thought was running through his mind.

"I'm in way over my head." Joe whispered meekly, beginning to breathe heavily.

Suddenly, Dr Kido turned to him, placing his hands on Joe's shoulders and looking him directly in the eyes.

"Joe, this is worse than I thought." he told his son with concern, surprising Joe, "This must be overwhelming for you."

"A-a little bit." Joe admitted, turning his face to the floor in embarrassment.

"Joe, I've never wanted you to do anything you weren't comfortable with. I know I've never really let you know that before and I'm sorry." Dr Kido confessed solemnly, "I feel like I've been pushing you all these years, but I only ever wanted you succeed and be happy. If you feel you can't handle this right now you don't have to stay, but I need to help these people."

Joe was shocked. His father had never openly forced him to do anything before, but had never known he felt this way. Joe had always thought that his father would be disappointed if his sons failed to live up to his expectations. Now the teenager could see that he had been wrong. Joe's father did not want to plan out his children's lives; he simply wanted what was best for them. He had only ever wanted Joe to choose medicine because he thought he would thrive and be happy with his choice. Now, Joe was faced with a challenge that he did not feel up to and his father was giving him a way out.

Joe had always thought his father was just old fashioned and now he regretted not seeing this other side to him earlier. The blue haired teenager was scared out his mind by the situation and he knew it would be easy to back out now and leave it all to his dad and whatever other medically trained personnel they could find. But having realised what his father had always wanted for him, he knew that there was no way he could run off now. With growing determination, Joe lifted his face.

"Thanks Dad, but I think I'll stick around." Joe told his father with newfound strength.

Dr Kido smiled at him.

"OK son, let's do this."

* * *

><p>Yolei and Mimi stood up and left Davis, T.K., Kari, Ken and Cody to their conversation. While they had been by no means excluded by the others, the discussion had turned to talk of junior high school, to which the two could not relate as well, seeing as both now attended high school. Seeing Matt and Izzy sitting on their own, the girls went over to join them. As they neared the two Matt noticed them and gestured to the free spaces next to Izzy and himself on the canvas beds they were sitting on.<p>

"Hey you two, the others getting boring?" Matt asked them with a small smile.

"That's one way of putting it." Mimi replied casually.

The older girl took a seat next to Matt while Yolei sat down next to Izzy. It then occurred to the purple haired girl that Sora, Tai and Joe were nowhere in sight, which struck her as odd as she had thought that they would be together with Matt and Izzy.

"Hey, where are Joe, Tai and Sora? Weren't they with you?" Yolei asked.

"Sora's been with her mother since we got lunch." Izzy informed her.

"Yeah and Tai's gone to check on her." Matt added with a grin.

Mimi noticed Matt's expression and smiled herself.

"Well after your talk with Tai this morning, I think we're one step closer to having those two get together." she said confidently, her simple smile morphing into a sly smirk.

"You just make sure you get onto Sora about it and those two will be falling into each other's arms before the end of the month." Matt replied, mirroring Mimi's devious look.

Yolei was taken aback by the boldness of the two meddlers, especially considering everything that was going on.

"Wow, even now you two are pretty serious about getting those two together." she commented.

"Well it keeps us occupied I suppose." Mimi offered.

"Yeah, I'll go with that." Matt agreed.

Yolei just shrugged. She had no idea how these two could focus on anything, let alone setting up their two friends at the moment. Yolei had always been a scatterbrain, so concentrating on something had always been a chore for her. Now though, with the horrors of the past day, she found it even harder to focus on the important things, let alone the unspoken feelings between two other Digidestined.

Yolei had often thought her distracted and random nature was a burden on others. On many occasions she had rushed into things without thinking, far too much like Davis for her liking, while at other times she had been too timid to act and had hung back, away from the action. She did not think, being so inconsistent, that anyone could consider her reliable. Now Mimi, someone she had always looked up to, and Matt were making concentration and focus look so easy. Sure it was on something mundane, but it bothered Yolei that she could not seem to do the same. She sighed, depressed by her line of thinking. However, true to her nature, a new thought barged forward in her mind, sweeping away all of her other worries and ideas.

"Hold on a moment, you never said where Joe was." Yolei pointed out.

"Oh, right." Matt said blankly.

"Well where is he? Is it a secret or something?" Yolei probed energetically.

"No, no, nothing like that." Matt assured her.

At this, Izzy stepped in to explain.

"You remember the three injured survivors they brought it about fifteen minutes ago?" Izzy asked.

"Um, sure." Yolei replied.

"Apparently Colonel Takagi asked Joe's father to lend any medical assistance he could in the event of an emergency. By that I assume he's the best doctor in this shelter, otherwise he wouldn't have been asked by-" Izzy rambled until Mimi stopped him.

"Izzy, less words, more details." she told him.

"Oh, er… sorry." Izzy apologised, embarrassed.

"You were saying." Yolei prompted.

"Right, um, well Dr Kido went in to lend a hand with the injured survivors and he asked Joe to go with him just in case he needed help." Izzy explained.

Yolei raised an eyebrow at this, surprised that Joe had been asked to assist in a medical emergency when he was still only a first year medical student.

"What? But Joe hasn't even finished the first year of his degree yet." she pointed out.

"True, but he still has more medical training than anyone who isn't studying medicine." Matt said, jumping in.

"And judging by the crowd here, I'd say that he's probably the fourth most knowledgeable on the subject." Izzy hypothesised.

"How do you figure that?" Mimi asked him sceptically.

"Seeing as maybe one or two others got up to go into the room where they took the survivors." Izzy replied evenly.

"Right, whatever." Mimi said.

Yolei had now become fixated on what Joe was supposed to be doing. He was in there with three badly injured people. She had seen them go in and they were covered in blood. Just the sight of them from a distance had made Yolei feel nauseous, and normally she did not have a big problem with blood; she cut herself so often opening boxes for her parents' convenience store with a Stanley knife that the sight of it no longer bothered her. But the sight of those people literally soaked in their own blood was far beyond what Yolei was accustomed to. She could only imagine how the jittery and nervy Joe Kido was handling it.

"I couldn't really see that well from where I was. How bad were they?" Mimi asked with uncertainty and a trace of worry.

Izzy grimaced and exhaled before answering her.

"To be honest, from what we could see from here, I'd be surprised if they survived the next hour."

* * *

><p>Joe was breathing heavily as he put pressure on one of the survivor's wounds, his gloved hands coated in a think layer of the stranger's blood. The incessant screaming and wailing from the three wounded arrivals, two men and a woman, was pushing Joe to the brink. His brain was tiring and his concentration threatening to break. The cries of agony were beating against his skull like a sledgehammer and he did not know how much more he could take.<p>

Joe and his father were working on one of the men while two other doctors, Dr Akita and Dr Itou, who had also come to lend their assistance, were tending to the other two. Dr Akita was a tall, young man who struck Joe as being barely a year out of medical school. Dr Itou, in contrast, was a woman in her late forties who looked as though she had been working for a week without sleep. It appeared to Joe that his father and these two other individuals were the only doctors in the shelter. How there could not be more, Joe could not fathom and he decided to give voice to his disbelief.

"How the hell can there only be three trained doctors here!" he almost shouted, his voice ringing with frustration.

"This whole outbreak started at the Odaiba General Hospital, most other doctors and surgeons are dead!" Dr Itou yelled back in answer to his question.

The answer caught Joe off guard. He had assumed that Daemon had simply unleashed his pestilence in the city centre, or some other densely populated area of Odaiba. It was now apparent that their adversary was far more cunning than Joe had given him credit for. Although there was no cure, by killing off so many doctors and other medical professionals Daemon had deprived the citizens of Odaiba medical help and the vital sense of hope that accompanied it.

Joe gulped and slackened the pressure he had been applying to his patient's wound. At this, blood began to spew again from the wound. Dr Kido noticed and hurriedly alerted Joe.

"Joe! Stay focused son, I need you to keep the pressure on that wound or else he'll bleed out in minutes." he called to Joe.

Joe shook away his preoccupations and returned to the task at hand, mentally kicking himself for drifting off. He could never forgive himself if he were to permit this person to die because he messed up. Even though he had never met the man before, he could not fail him.

Failure. The idea struck Joe and his stomach turned uncomfortably. He had always stressed over his marks for school and university, afraid of letting down his parents and educators. But now the stakes were higher, as high as they had been in the Digital World. Death was a true risk, and Joe, through his actions, was the one who would decide the fates of those he treated. Much like how he had felt when he had entered the room, Joe felt a mixture of excitement and sickening fear. These mixed feelings were intoxicating, but also tiring. He was not sure how much longer he could go on.

Interrupting his thoughts, the man he and his father were working on began screaming even louder and his eyes bulged outward as if ready to burst from their sockets. Joe went pale. He had no idea what this meant and he looked immediately at his father for guidance. To Joe's surprise and horror, he was wearing same expression.

"What's going on?" Dr Kido exclaimed with fear and confusion, "I'm losing him but he's not losing nearly enough blood to be dying!"

"Mine's dying as well! I don't understand it!" Dr Akita shouted from across the room.

"Something else is killing them!" Dr Itou yelled as he moved to restrain his patient who had started to violently convulse.

As Dr Itou finished speaking, the other two patients also began to convulsing, as though they were having severe seizures. Dr Kido and Dr Akita followed Dr Itou's lead and restrained their patients, securing them to their stretchers with discarded belts, bandages and whatever else they could find before the wounded hurt themselves. All three doctors were in a frenzy, each with no idea what was happening. Joe, on the other hand, had realised what must be happening.

"It's the virus!" he shouted at the three doctors.

"What virus?" Dr Akita yelled back in confusion.

"It's the reason for all the insane, undead cannibals. That's what's killing them!" Joe told them, desperate for them to accept what he had to say.

"Kid, it can't be; no virus I've heard of can do that!" Dr Itou exclaimed, confident in her own medical knowledge.

"That's because it's never existed before!" Joe insisted. They had to believe him or they would never be able to help these people.

Before he could continue his protests, however, the three patients stopped convulsing and lay still. The room was captured in silence. The screaming had stopped. The wounded had died. They had failed to save them. Joe's stomach lurched as he realised what had happened.

Dr Kido sighed remorsefully as he approached the man he and Joe had been working on. Checking the pulse he shook his head. The man checked his watch then returned his gaze to the now dead patient.

"Time of death, three-"

Before he could finish, however, the dead man sprang to life. He started struggling furiously against his restraints, growling in a deep and menacing guttural rumble. He had begun salivating, almost foaming like a ravenous hyena. Most striking of all, however, were his eyes. They were a ghostly white, devoid of all life and emotion; it was this that frightened Joe the most. Looking over at the other two dead patients, Joe saw that they too had reawakened from the dead and were fighting against their restraints. All three had turned.

Just at that moment, Colonel Takagi barged in, a purposeful expression on his face. The three doctors turned to the military man in surprise at his bold and aggressive entrance.

"C-Colonel Takagi? What are you-? There was nothing we could do. The patients just… just died on us, a-and then… this." Dr Akita stammered, pointing at the three crazed undead.

"Have they turned?" the Colonel asked forcefully, ignoring Akita's ramblings.

"What sir?" Dr Itou asked confused.

"Have. They. Turned?" Colonel Takagi repeated slowly, becoming irritated with the doctor's lack of comprehension.

As Itou and Akita began rifling off whatever words and phrases they could to express their bewilderment, Dr Kido looked to Joe, now understanding what his son had been talking about.

"They have turned sir." Joe's father told the Colonel calmly.

"In that case I must ask you four to leave the room immediately." he told them sternly.

"B-but what about our patients?" Dr Akita asked timidly, becoming afraid of the military man and his aggressive, authoritative manner.

"Out!" Takagi exclaimed urgently.

Joe was perplexed as they walked out the door into a small hallway which led back to the main floor of the convention centre. What was Colonel Takagi planning on doing? If he stayed in the room, the undead might manage to free themselves. It was dangerous to be around them so long as they were alive, so to speak. Joe gasped. As long as the undead were alive, they were dangerous. Colonel Takagi was planning on fixing that problem in the most direct way he knew how.

Having realised that the Colonel planned to execute the people that he, his father and the two other doctors had tried to save, Joe grabbed his father's shoulder, getting his attention in the hope of stopping the act of what he saw as cold blooded murder.

"Dad, we can't leave him alone in there with them. He's going to-" he said in a panic, but he was cut off.

"I know what he plans to do son." Dr Kido revealed to his son, his tone defeated and sorrowful.

"You know? Then why didn't you say any thing? He'll kill them!" Joe exclaimed in disbelief.

Joe's father sighed, placing his hands on his son's shoulders.

"Joe, you're nineteen now. You're a man, an adult." he said seriously.

"Yes, but-" Joe began.

"Joe, please let me finish." Dr Kido told his son sternly.

The teenager opened his mouth to protest, but stopped himself before he said anything. Joe might not have agreed with everything his father had ever said or told him to do, but he knew better than to argue with him about things the man was decided on. Settling down, he listened to his father.

"Joe, you have to understand that when you're a kid, right and wrong is so clear and defined. When you work in life or death situations in this world, you start to appreciate the fact that it's not as clear cut as we once liked to think." Dr Kido told him gently.

"So you're happy for that guy to just execute them? They haven't done anything wrong! It's not fair! If we just keep them tied up then there's no reason to kill them." Joe shouted angrily, not believing that his father, who had taken the Hippocratic Oath, which bound him to save lives, was alright with what was going to happen in the room they had just left.

"No Joe, I'm not happy about it, and no, it's not fair at all." Dr Kido replied.

"Then why?" Joe yelled.

"Because we have to make sacrifices to save lives. I know they can't hurt anyone as they are, but if they do get loose it will be a disaster. The virus, as you labelled it, will spread and kill so many more. We just can't take that risk." Dr Kido said solemnly, "And even if that wasn't true, do you really think that those people would be happy, existing forever as maddened cannibals, restrained like animals for the rest of their existence?"

"What are you saying Dad?" Joe asked, no longer angry but confused with what he had been told.

"I'm saying that sometimes, even if we aren't directly threatened by something, we need to make sacrifices to keep ourselves safe. I'm not advocating wholesale slaughter, government assassinations or anything like that, but the circumstances now are truly exceptional. In the end we really haven't got much of a choice if we want to safeguard ourselves all the other survivors." Dr Kido told his son calmly, but still in a solemn tone.

Joe took in what his father had told him. It flew in the face of everything Joe believed. Joe had always thought that killing could only be justified in self-defence, only in the most dire and extreme circumstances. But what his father had said made sense. He hated to admit it, but it made sense. Joe just did not know what to think anymore. He was tired of thinking altogether. He just wanted to rest.

Just then, three loud, sharp cracks were heard from the room they had just left. Both Joe and his father winced. It was done.

Colonel Takagi walked slowly out of the room while radioing some of his personnel in to clean the room. Seeing that the two Kidos were still there, he approached them slowly, a remorseful expression on his face, which surprised Joe.

"I'm so sorry. I would rather it hadn't have come to that, but I can't have any of those infectious flesh eaters in here. Too much is at stake to take a risk like that." he told them calmly, but with a touch of sadness in his voice.

The pair nodded at him. Nodding back, the Colonel then moved on, back to the atrium where he had set up his command station. Before he got to the end of the hallway, however, a young army officer dashed up to his commander, an atmosphere of fear and panic surrounding him.

"I didn't call for you Lieutenant Yamaguchi. What is it?" the Colonel asked impatiently, failing to notice the state his subordinate was in.

"Sir we have a major problem." Yamaguchi told his superior fearfully.

"What problem?" Takagi asked, now noticing the Lieutenant's panicked expression.

Lieutenant Yamaguchi glanced briefly at the floor. To Joe, it looked as if the young man was preparing to break some terrible news to his commander, and the two Kido men focused intently on him, nervously awaiting what he had to reveal.

"Sir, we're surrounded, and they're closing in fast."


	8. Chapter 8: The Breaking Point

**Hey again. This is a day or two later than I wanted to post this but procrastination called. It's a bit of a cliffhanger, but fear not I will deliver to you the next chapter as soon as I can.**

**Just to answer the reviews of the last chapter:**

**Vigatus: Thanks, I'm very much a 'shades of grey' person when it comes to these moral dilemmas so I wanted to write it accordingly.**

**Aizawa Li Syaoran Vessalius: The Digimon are working on it, don't worry, and it is fun to write the playful segments.**

**Mimato love 4ever: Glad you enjoyed it. In all honesty, I'm not much of a Mimi fan, and Matt… well, never mind. But I wouldn't feel right if I didn't do each character justice as different people have their own favourites and none of the characters are actually bad people. Personally, I hate it when fanfic authors rag on and make villains out of characters they don't like for no reason, so no matter who's your favourite, you can expect they'll get fair treatment from me :) (or at least I'll try my very hardest to make everyone happy).**

**As always I hope you all enjoy and feel free to leave ideas and comments on this story and chapter in the reviews if you like.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Digimon or any of the characters, they are the property of Toei Animation.**

The survivors in the convention centre all watched in silence as Colonel Takagi addressed them. It had been revealed to them that the undead hordes had amassed and surrounded the convention centre in a matter of minutes, far faster than any thought possible. The Colonel himself appeared to be in a state of shock and disorientation as he had not expected the situation to develop so rapidly. His lack of understanding regarding the true nature of the plague was evident and he had clearly underestimated Daemon and his minions, not that he knew a banished digital being was behind it. Takagi was quick to finish his address, saying that he needed to be out with his troops to command them. His parting order to the civilians was that they remain in the main floor area and not to venture outside or into the atrium. With that he marched hurriedly out to convention centre entrance.

T.K. sat with the Digidestined and their families, unsure of what to say. Joe and his father had rushed over and informed them all only a few minutes before Takagi had formally informed them, so hearing it from the Colonel was of no surprise to them. Yet, to be told officially that their sanctuary was surrounded by an army of flesh eating monsters was no less disheartening, especially when the announcer, a tough and hardened military man, seemed to be so overwhelmed by it.

T.K. had been sitting between his brother and Kari as the announcement was made and they too were silent, along with all the other Digidestined and their families. The realisation that Daemon's legion of undead had come had hit them all hard psychologically. They now knew that hiding away in the convention centre was no longer an option. Of course it was possible that the hordes could be held off, but no one was willing to bet their lives on it. As the crowds of other survivors bustled about, some making preparations for evacuation, others merely trying to occupy themselves and bury the crushing fear at the back of their minds, the Digidestined and their families all remained in a state of stationary silence.

T.K. did not have the words to describe what he was feeling. As the bearer of the Crest of Hope he was doing his utmost to remain optimistic, confident in his belief that the ragtag force of soldiers, police officers and security guards could successfully defend the convention centre until their Digimon defeated Daemon once and for all. However, T.K. could not ignore the distinct possibility that their defences would fail, forcing them to flee for their lives. If it came to that, he resolved, he wished only for their survival.

Unconsciously, he took hold of Kari's hand, a firm but gentle grip which she returned. Physical gestures like this had always been so natural for the pair, and even with T.K.'s growing feelings for her, this type of contact with Kari did not embarrass him, at least not at the current time. At that moment it was a show of care and friendship as far as he was concerned.

Both he and the brown haired girl looked up as one of their number finally found the strength to speak.

"Well I think what we have to do now is clear." Matt and T.K.'s father, Hiroaki Ishida, said vaguely in his typical gruff voice.

"And what might that be, Hiroaki?" Susumu Kamiya, Tai and Kari's father, asked somewhat impatiently.

"Isn't it obvious? We stick together and wait this out." Hiroaki replied, slightly taken aback by Mr Kamiya's tone.

"Wait it out? Do you seriously think this will all just blow over or something?" Susumu asked incredulously.

"Look, I'm sure there's no need to panic. The men and women defending this place are mostly professionals and I'm sure they can hold those things off." Izzy's father, Masami Izumi, said calmly, stepping between Hiroaki and Susumu.

"Professionals? Half of them look like they don't even know which end of the gun the bullets come out of!" Davis's father exclaimed, jumping in.

"Exactly, we can't be sure that the Colonel's rabble can hold them off. We can't take that risk; we have to do something other than just wait it out." Yolei's mother joined in.

The Digidestined watched in surprise and embarrassment as their parents argued like children. The pressure was clearly getting to them and at this point it seemed as though they were unwilling to trust anyone's opinion but their own. T.K., Matt, Tai and Kari were particularly uncomfortable as their fathers had been the ones that had ignited the argument.

T.K. glanced at Tai, who was sitting on the other side of Kari, and saw him look over at Matt. They both rolled their eyes, chuckling and T.K. was fairly sure he knew why. The pair had always argued much like their parents were now and it must have been truly bizarre for them to see the same thing played out between their fathers now, years later.

After a minute, with the parents still embroiled in their argument and the kids looking on uncomfortably, T.K. saw Tai and Matt look again at each other. The two both nodded and stood up, preparing to put a stop to the senseless bickering. Mimi, however, beat them to the punch.

"Everyone, please! Can't you see all this fighting is getting us nowhere?" she exclaimed, catching everyone off guard.

Mimi's mother and father, Keisuke and Satoe, both turned to her with looks of concern.

Keisuke looked at his daughter worriedly. "Mimi, honey, we're all trying to work this out, so maybe if you just left it to the adults-" he said, but Mimi jumped in.

"Dad, look at how far 'the adults' have gotten. And I may be just seventeen, but that does not give you the right to treat me or any of us like children!" she asserted strongly, the building frustration evident in her flushed cheeks.

T.K., along with everyone else, was stunned. Mimi was very vocal when she was younger, but more recently she had become more soft spoken and controlled. She was still talkative and energetic, but with big issues and weighty discussions she would normally hold her tongue and simply listen. Her outburst had come from nowhere, and T.K. thought that maybe the weight of the situation was getting to her as well.

Mimi was breathing heavily, but T.K. could tell that she was not yet finished. Sure enough, she opened her mouth again to speak.

"Please, I just want you to stop arguing amongst yourselves. Mr Kamiya, Mr Motamiya and Mrs Inoue are right, but there's nothing else we can really do for now, so we may as well get settled in and try to stay calm." she said, wearily.

Before anyone could cut across her, Cody too got on his feet, another surprise for T.K. and the others.

"Mimi's right." Cody declared. "Sure, there are no guarantees that the Colonel's people can defend this place indefinitely, but like Mimi said it's not like there's anything else we can really do but wait it out."

Just as with Mimi, everyone was nothing but surprised with Cody. While Mimi had only become more reserved in recent years, Cody had always been very quiet. Ever since T.K. had first met him, the youngest of the Digidestined had never been afraid of sharing his opinion, but he tended to be the shiest out of all of them. Rarely had he ever spoken out so strongly, and the fact that he had marked the seriousness of the circumstances.

To this the parents had no retort. T.K. could see that they all knew Mimi and Cody were right. Mimi's father was the first to speak.

"I'm sorry sweetie, you're right and I never meant to treat you like a little kid." Keisuke told his daughter, gently hugging her as part of his apology, and she hugged back, showing her forgiveness.

Susumu Kamiya and Hiroaki Ishida both looked to one another, both clearly embarrassed at their hotheadedness.

"Hey, sorry for biting your head off like that Hiroaki." Susumu apologised.

"Don't worry about it Susumu, I could see where you were coming from. No hard feelings?" Hiroaki replied, extending his hand.

Mr Kamiya nodded and shook hands with Mr Ishida, the two wanting nothing more than to put their rather humiliating argument behind them. As T.K. and Kari both looked on, only one thought ran through the blond's mind.

"Wow, you don't see that everyday." he whispered to Kari, receiving a nod and a tentative giggle in return.

* * *

><p>Several hours had passed since the announcement and sporadic gunfire could be heard coming from outside the convention centre. Accompanying the sounds of firearms was the occasional scream of pain, gruesome reminders of the deadliness of Daemon's horde. Sitting alone on his canvas bed, Cody was left to his thoughts which were slowly drifting into his past and the loss he had once suffered.<p>

Cody's grandfather was sleeping and his mother was fetching their rationed dinner from the convention centre cafeteria, where the Digidestined had earlier gone to collect lunch. For some reason, Cody could only think of his late father at this time. Hiroki Hida had been a dedicated police officer, a man of wisdom, courage and conviction. To Cody, although he had been only a young boy at the time, his father had been perfect and someone he had always aspired to be like.

Cody's father had died in the line of duty, protecting the lives of complete strangers. Cody saw it as a cruel irony that such an end befitted a man like Hiroki, as he had always put his life on the line for the sake of others. It struck the young man as strange that his thoughts should dwell on someone long dead at this time, even if that someone was his father.

Perhaps, Cody thought, it was the sounds coming from outside. Maybe the shouts and gunshots from the police officers, security guards and soldiers reminded him of what his father would do in this situation. Hiroki Hida would have doubtlessly volunteered to be on the front line, personally fighting off the threat to the lives of his friends, his family and also to those he had never even met. The thought brought a smile to Cody's face, but it was bittersweet. His admiration for his father's deeds was undying, but he could not help but wish that, for once, the man had not risked his life, that he had not given his life so that another could live on.

Cody hated it when these thoughts would surface. He felt so selfish and spiteful and he was ashamed that he was even capable of thinking like that. But he missed his father deeply, more so than he had ever admitted to anyone. Did he not deserve to have his dad with him as he grew up?

Cody sighed. Sometimes he found it difficult to control the bitterness, but he had always managed to maintain his mental composure. Whenever he got like this he would always think of his mother, who had always made him feel loved and supported, his grandfather, who ensured that Cody grew up with guidance, and also his friends. This last group always made him feel welcome and he had long lost sight of the distinction between his friends and his family; to Cody they were one and the same.

Cody managed a smile as he now began to dwell on these happier thoughts. He could not linger on these sentiments for long, however, as Mimi, Davis and Ken came to join him.

"Hey Cody, what are you doing here by yourself man?" Davis asked in his usual carefree way while taking a seat next to him on the bed.

"Not much, just thinking I guess." Cody replied vaguely.

"Thinking about what?" Davis asked with a heavy sense of curiosity.

"Oh, this and that." Cody told him evasively.

"Come on man, what's on your mind?" Davis questioned even more intensely.

Cody was starting to feel uncomfortable. He considered Davis to be a good friend, but sometimes he was far too pushy and impulsive and at the moment that was certainly the case. Ken, however, stepped in before Davis could push any further.

"Hey Davis, I'm pretty sure it'd just be stuff about Kendo, probably nothing too interesting. Right Cody?" he interjected.

"Er, yeah, right." Cody agreed awkwardly.

"Oh, OK then." Davis said, oblivious.

Cody flashed a quick smile at Ken to show his thanks and the dark haired teen winked back at him, mouthing, "No problem."

"So what have you all been doing all afternoon?" Cody asked after a few moments of silence.

"Well, most of us have just been spending time just with our families. Mum's acting like she has a split personality, as usual, and Dad is in heroic mode." Mimi said, sighing at the end of her second sentence.

"Do your parents always act like that?" Davis questioned with a hint of amusement.

"All the time. It's strange to think I used to be just like my Mum." Mimi said with a small laugh.

"What made you change?" Ken queried.

"You guys." Mimi replied simply.

"You're just saying that." Davis said with amused cynicism.

"No I'm serious." Mimi insisted, "Before I went to the Digital World and met the others and then you younger guys I complained about everything and kept jumping between being happy and sad and angry. Being around you all made me grow up, I guess; calmed me down."

"Well it's good to know I could give something back after you guys all helped me so much." Ken told her with a soft smile.

Cody had listened to the conversation with great interest. He had heard stories about what the original group used to be like from T.K. and Kari, but he never realised how much they had all truly changed for the better. He had known that Tai had been something of a hothead, much like Davis had been during Cody's own Digital World adventures, and that Izzy had been a major introvert. But for others like Mimi, Cody knew very little of how much they had grown by being a part of the Digidestined. To him it was proof of just how valuable the friendship the team shared truly was.

"Hey Cody." Mimi said, breaking him from his thoughts.

"Yeah Mimi." Cody acknowledged.

"I never really thanked you for backing me up during that argument earlier today." she said bashfully, "I don't like getting in the middle of fights like that and it was nice to have someone helping me out."

Cody was taken aback. He had not thought what he did was all that much so he was surprised to receive such sincere thanks from Mimi. While the older Digidestined now saw their younger counterparts more as equals rather than protégés, Cody still looked up to them a great deal and Mimi's gratitude for such a minor act was something he was not sure that he deserved.

"You don't need to thank me for that Mimi. You were right anyway, so it's not like what I did made any real difference." Cody told her, slightly embarrassed.

"Cody I do need to thank you. I'd cut across all the adults, even my own parents and I don't think I could have handled it if you hadn't have stuck up for me when you did."

"Well, ah, you're welcome." Cody said shyly, tentatively rubbing the back of his head.

Davis chuckled. "Hey Cody, it's either really hot in here, or you're seriously embarrassed." he said pointing at Cody's flushed cheeks.

Cody flushed even darker in humiliation at this, but Ken once again came to the rescue.

"C'mon Davis, Cody's just humble, you know how he is." he said.

"Yeah, true. That's why we love him so much." Davis replied jovially as he mussed up the younger teen's hair.

Cody scowled slightly at this, but at least Davis was no longer poking fun at him. The moment was interrupted when Cody's mother called him over to eat with her and his grandfather.

"Gotta go guys. Sorry I can't stay and chat." Cody told them apologetically, though secretly being a little relieved to have a break from Davis's teasing.

"That's OK, I think we should all go back to our families for the time being." Ken said knowingly.

Cody walked over to where his mother and grandfather were seated on the old man's canvas bed. As he went, he again reflected happily on his friendship with the other Digidestined. If nothing else, they would see each other through their current ordeal, together as always.

* * *

><p>Izzy drummed his fingers on the top of his laptop. Something was bothering him about the undead army outside their doors. It was the way they moved, the way they seemed to work as one. Whatever the reason it was eating away at him with each passing moment.<p>

Izzy had spent every minute of the last three hours, following a rationed dinner with his parents, trying to figure it out. Something was not right about it, but he just could not figure out what it was. The computer genius was sure that this small detail, whatever it was, was out there for him to find and could very well be vital to their survival. His lack of success, though, had him slightly disheartened.

Izzy's musing was disturbed as Ken approached and sat down next to him.

"You look like something's bothering you Izzy." the younger teenager said matter-of-factly, "Is there some problem you can't figure out?"

"Am I that transparent?" Izzy replied with an amused laugh.

"Well you have been sitting here on your own for over three hours and you usually only isolate yourself when you're trying to work something out. So yes, you are that obvious." Ken replied, chuckling.

Izzy smiled. Once Ken had joined their group, he found the young genius the easiest to relate to out of all the Digidestined. Izzy thought it was probably due to both of them being highly intelligent. Each could understand the other much easier and there was no need for them to dumb down their words when they conversed with each other. Plus, it was refreshing to find another person who enjoyed algebra.

"I assume you've come to offer your qualified assistance?" Izzy queried.

"Ready and willing." Ken replied jovially.

"Prodigious." Izzy said simply. It felt good to use his signature phrase again. The past two days had not had much occasion for him to say it.

"So what have you been trying to figure out all this time?" Ken asked, eager to become involved.

"It's those things. There's something about their organisation and movement that bothers me." Izzy replied, now becoming more serious.

"What about them? Do you mean their speed or some kind of leadership structure?" Ken questioned.

"Not exactly. When we were dodging through the streets yesterday, I observed how those monsters behaved in group formations, and from what I can tell they appeared to all follow a uniform pattern of movement and direction." Izzy informed him, "However, when you observe how they act as individuals, they appear no more intelligent than a bunch of farmyard animals."

"You mean that they're acting as though they take orders from some form of hive mind or something?" Ken offered.

"Exactly. It's significant, I know it is. I just can't seem to figure out why." Izzy responded.

"What more are you seeking to discover?" Ken asked.

"If I can discern what is directing them we might be able to shut it down." Izzy replied.

Izzy racked his brains. He was becoming frustrated now because he knew the answer was probably staring him in the face and the fact that he could not see it was killing him. There had never been a problem he could not solve and he was in no mood to meet his match now, not when it could be a matter of life or death. Ken, however, was to provide his inspiration.

"Daemon must have been working on this relentlessly if it's as complex as it appears." the younger genius said absentmindedly.

Izzy slapped a hand to his forehead before exclaiming, "Daemon! Of course, how could I not see it before?"

"Hmm, what?" Ken said confusedly.

"Ken don't you remember what Gennai told us? The virus or whatever is infecting everyone is connected to him!" Izzy said excitedly, almost shouting.

"Wait, Izzy are you trying to tell me that Daemon is personally controlling those monsters? How?" Ken questioned, a little overwhelmed by Izzy's revelation.

"Daemon is capable of opening gates or rifts between worlds, right? So, it's not much of a leap of logic to think that he could exert his will through dimensional barriers, especially with something that is tied directly to him." Izzy explained.

"But if he's doing that, wouldn't he be wasting what power he has left?" Ken asked, still a little uncertain, "It doesn't seem like the sort of move that Daemon would make."

"That's just it. He's in a no win situation. No matter what he does he'll die. I think he's personally exerting some control over the infected so that he can be certain we've been destroyed." Izzy hypothesised.

Izzy saw Ken's eyes widen and his face light up. Now that he could see Izzy's thinking on the matter clearly he looked as though he completely agreed. After a moment, however, his face fell again.

"What use is this information to us though? We can't touch Daemon." Ken pointed out.

Izzy frowned. "Hmm, maybe there's nothing we can do with it, but perhaps Gennai and the Digimon would find it useful." he said.

"You're right. If anything else they'll at least be aware of Daemon's full power and capabilities when they finally face him." Ken agreed.

"OK, can you go grab Tai so I can let him know and I'll set up a link with Gennai." Izzy told his fellow genius.

"No problem, I'm on it." Ken replied as he rose to his feet and headed off to find Tai.

Izzy sighed as he typed on his laptop, setting up a connection with Gennai. This whole ordeal was proving to be a multilayered puzzle, but each detail they discovered never brought them any closer to bringing a swifter end to the madness. All the redheaded genius hoped for now was for Gennai and the Digimon to infiltrate the Dark Ocean and destroy Daemon as soon as possible.

* * *

><p>Ken reclaimed his seat next to Izzy as he returned. He had found Tai with Sora and her mother, the latter of which had only just fallen asleep. While he had only gone for Tai, their leader had insisted on bringing Sora and Matt along to speak with Gennai. Tai had also wanted all the other Digidestined to be present as well, but everyone else had been busy. Mimi, Cody, Yolei and Davis were all spending time with their families, Joe was with his father tending to a small group of teenagers who had gotten into a brawl and T.K. and Kari had slipped off somewhere together. Regardless, they could all be informed later.<p>

Ken had told the older three of his and Izzy's new discovery, or theory to be more precise. While at first cynical, Tai, Sora and Matt had quickly seen the logic in Izzy's conclusion.

"It does sound like the kind of thing an evil freak like him would do." Tai had commented.

The older three all took a seat on the canvas bed opposite the one on which Izzy and Ken sat. All the while, the redheaded genius was typing away furiously on his laptop. Before anyone else could say anything, though, Izzy spoke up.

"Thanks for joining us you three. I've established an uplink with Gennai and now we just have to wait for him to accept the connection." he informed them.

"Well that was quick." Tai remarked.

"Please, remember who you're talking to." Izzy replied with a small smirk.

Just then, a small video chat window popped up on the laptop screen and an image of Gennai appeared. Seeing this, Ken caught Tai, Sora and Matt's attention and beckoned them over to where they could see the screen.

"Izzy? Is everything alright on Earth? Why have you contacted me?" Gennai questioned with concern.

"Well, our shelter has been surrounded by Daemon's monsters." Matt told him calmly.

"What? Oh my. I-" Gennai said before Izzy interrupted him.

"That's true Gennai, but it isn't why I decided to contact you." Izzy hurriedly told the digital man.

"If not because of that, then why?" Gennai asked, confused.

"You see, Ken and I were trying to figure out why all the infected were moving as a cohesive group, since individually they have no more than animal intelligence." Izzy said.

"And I assume you have found something." Gennai replied expectantly.

"Not exactly found. I'd call it more of a theory on my part, rather than a factual discovery." Izzy explained, "What I believe is that Daemon himself is exerting direct control over the infected masses here on Earth. I'm certain that he does not control each one individually, but gives direction to the group entire."

"We couldn't really use this information much to our own advantage here, but we thought you and the Digimon may find it useful." Ken added.

Gennai remained silent for a few moments, seemingly contemplating what they had just told him. Eventually he spoke.

"Yes, I knew the virus was connected directly to him, but I did not foresee anything like this." he mused.

"So you think Izzy is right?" Sora asked him.

"I do Sora. Izzy's theory fits with what evidence we have, although I must admit it was a slight surprise to hear it." Gennai responded.

"So what does this mean for us?" Matt asked.

"It's good news in a way. Although his minions will be far more effective as a group, Daemon himself would have to be expending power in order to facilitate such a measure of control." Gennai told them.

"So, if Daemon is actually controlling the infected, he's making himself weaker by doing it?" Tai surmised.

"Exactly, so his defeat will be that much easier." Gennai said, nodding.

Ken was happy to hear Gennai's confirmation of his and Izzy's hypothesis. While it did not change their situation on Earth in any immediate way, it was heartening to know that everything was now less of a mystery.

"Thank you for informing me Izzy, however I must go now." Gennai said.

"Wait, how come? We just got onto you." Tai questioned, a little taken aback.

Gennai stared back at them mournfully.

"The virus that hit the Digital World two months ago. We have spent every day since repairing the damage it did to this dimension." he explained, "To communicate with, or travel to other dimensions, however, requires that we stop work entirely. In addition, to prevent further damage to our world, we must set up safeguards. Speaking to you now I have firewalls enabled. It also means that we had to stop work on infiltrating the Dark Ocean."

Ken noticed Izzy recoil slightly at Gennai's words. The digital man had not told them of the safeguards communication with them required, and Ken saw a flash of guilt fly across Izzy's face.

"Gennai… I'm-I'm sorry. I didn't mean to put your work in jeopardy. I-" Izzy rambled apologetically before Gennai stopped him.

"Izzy, it was my choice to accept the connection, and moreover the information you have provided me may prove vital. There is no need to apologise." he told the young, redheaded genius.

Izzy calmed himself and nodded and Gennai smiled warmly at the five of them.

"Stay safe, Digidestined." he said to them before disappearing from the screen.

The five teenagers sat in silence for a minute. Matt was first to speak.

"I guess that's that then." he stated simply.

"Yeah the old man sure has a way with words… Well, young man now, I suppose." Tai agreed.

"OK, I'm gonna get some sleep. No sense being tired if something happens." Sora told them, but speaking most directly to Tai.

"Cool, I'll just go hunt down Kari and T.K. and make sure they're keeping it kid friendly, if you know what I mean." he said with a wink.

The other four all laughed at Tai's words, knowing that the younger two were so oblivious to each other that they were unlikely to be doing any more than talking. Izzy yawned and closed his laptop, wishing them all goodnight as well. Ken and Matt both returned his wishes and moved off towards their own beds. As they walked slowly, Ken decided to make small talk,

"I don't know how I'm going to be able to sleep with all that gunfire and everything coming from out there." he commented a little uneasily.

"Yeah, I know what you mean." Matt replied.

The two continued in silence for another moment before Matt spoke again.

"You scared?" he asked simply.

Ken was a little surprised by the question, but answered truthfully.

"I'd be lying if I said I wasn't." he told the blond.

Matt smiled warmly and patted Ken on the shoulder.

"Just try not to think about it for now. Don't fret about things you can't control; just make sure you're ready to act if and when the time comes." Matt told him wisely.

Ken was startled by Matt's soulful attitude, but it did not last long enough for him to question the older teenager about it.

"Anyway, I've gotta go follow Tai and make sure he doesn't give T.K. a heart attack. See you in the morning." Matt said cheerily as he dashed off.

Ken just stood there. He was surprised by the way Matt had just spoken to him, but the more he thought about it, the less stunned he felt.

Ken knew that Matt had always been the most reserved of the older group. But he had also heard stories from T.K., about how his older brother was affected by their parents divorce and how he had come to terms with it all. While very solitary and somewhat emotionally fragile, Matt had done his best to provide T.K. with a caring and reliable older brother.

While Ken related to Izzy the easiest and got along best with T.K. and Davis, he found that Matt was the one he respected the most. He was calm and authoritative, but also emotionally guarded. Ken found that Matt in many ways resembled how he had been at one time, a lone wolf of sorts. At the same time, however, Matt also reminded him a lot of his brother, Sam. Before he had been killed in a traffic accident, Sam Ichijouji had in many ways been like Matt. He was cool and composed as well as being very protective of Ken, much like Matt had been, and to some extent still was, with T.K.

Ken sighed at the memories. He had long come to terms with the loss of his brother. Nevertheless, he still missed him and he knew that his parents felt the same way. When Ken had run away to the Digital World as the Digimon Emperor his mother and father had been in hysterics, unable to sleep properly and worrying themselves half to death. The possibility that they had lost another child had nearly killed them.

As Ken lay down on his canvas bed he looked over to both his parents, who were asleep on their own beds just a few feet away. Ken swore to himself that they would never have to go through the same ordeal again. They deserved a little more peace in their lives.

* * *

><p>Kari exhaled slowly and calmly as she sat right next to T.K. in the far corner of the main floor area. The two had slipped away from their families and the other Digidestined for some quiet time to just talk and they had been sitting comfortably on the floor with their backs against the wall for a good two hours now. There had been periods of chatter between them, but they had mostly been content to sit in silence, comfortable simply with each other's presence.<p>

If Kari was honest with herself, she was terrified of what might happen. The undead hordes could break through the convention centre's defences and swarm the survivors at any moment. But she also had T.K., and somehow she was able to block out the fear and discomfort with him around.

With T.K. there with her she was serene and strangely contented. Kari had never felt like this with anyone or anything else. Sure, her family and other friends made her feel safe and happy, but with T.K. there was a sense of fulfilment that she had not found anywhere else. With Kari, T.K. elicited a unique feeling, an indescribable emotion. She knew what most would call it. The word excited, perplexed and terrified her all at the same time. But above all it burdened her, for it demanded that she release this feeling and expose it to the one who had instilled it in her.

Kari wondered if this had changed how she acted around her best friend. She had never thought too deeply about it and she assumed she had hidden her true feelings well. The past few days, however, had made her think twice. Just yesterday, T.K. had acted so nervous and unnatural when they had first met up at school. Now that she thought on it, their first meetings of every day had gone like that for some time now. Had T.K. figured out what she was feeling? Had her attempted secrecy failed?

The thought that he had seen through her friendly façade terrified her almost as much as the threat of death that surrounded their sanctuary. T.K. might think she was crazy, or pathetic. He might never look at her the same way. For all she knew, he could be drifting apart from her as these thoughts crossed her mind.

Her breathing grew deeper and her heart rate quickened. She might not be able to have what she truly wanted, he might not share her feelings, but to lose him as a friend was worse than she could bear.

Kari looked over to T.K. only to find him gazing at her. She blushed and lowered her eyes, just missing the reddening of his own cheeks. When she looked back, however, he gave her the warm smile that she loved so dearly, the one he had always given her before. Kari saw that smile as a mark of their friendship, as much as anything they had ever done together. She smiled back at him. She now had proof that nothing had really changed; they were still the best of friends and she breathed a sigh of relief.

Now that she was looking directly at T.K., though, she could now see that he was thinking hard about something. It appeared as though he was contemplating something to say to her, but could not find the words. This piqued Kari's curiosity.

"T.K. is everything alright?" she asked with some concern.

"Yeah, um… well, there's something I want to say to you… but I, um… I'm not sure how to say it… or even if I should say it." he said, stumbling with his words.

"T.K., you know you don't have anything to worry about. You can tell me anything and no matter how you word it I'm sure I'll understand what you're trying to say." she reassured him, smiling warmly at him.

"Yeah, I know… It's just, um…" he muttered while fidgeting nervously.

Kari was worried now. He had never acted this nervously around her, not since they first met and even then he had warmed up to her and settled down in a matter of seconds. What could he possibly have to say to her that had him so flustered? Perhaps the 'proof' that nothing had changed between them was not what it seemed.

"T.K.?" Kari said anxiously, dreading what he might possibly say to her.

"I… well, you…" T.K. stuttered.

The blond boy sighed and looked at her, his face filled with an emotion she could not read. Taking a deep breath he began to speak once again, this time with calm and clarity.

"Kari, we've known each other for seven years now, and I can tell you honestly that I have never had, nor could I have asked for a better friend." he said seriously.

"T.K. you don't need to be embarrassed to tell me that." Kari said, a little surprised that he had not said something more shocking.

"No Kari, that's not all I have to say." T.K. replied.

Kari's heart dipped. Surely he could not be about to tell her what she feared he would.

"Over the past year or two, things have changed." he told her, "We've both grown up. We're not just kids anymore Kari and… the thing is…"

"What?" Kari asked, deeply fearful of what the answer may be.

T.K. paused. A strained expression was evident on his face.

"Kari I-"

"T.K.! Kari! Geez, we've been looking everywhere for you two."

The pair looked up to see Tai and Matt standing only a few feet away, both wearing identical wicked grins.

"Tai, Matt… we were just-" T.K. started to explain, but was interrupted by Matt.

"Making out, yeah we know." Matt joked, his smirk widening while Tai laughed hysterically.

Both T.K. and Kari went bright red. Kari diverted her eyes directly at her feet in embarrassment.

"Matt shut up." T.K. said, looking sideways, trying to avoid his brothers teasing.

"Look, we just wanted to grab you two and get back to everyone else. We all need to get as much sleep as possible in case something crops up and we need to move." Tai told them, calming down from his laughter.

"Yeah, whatever." T.K. grumbled, helping Kari to her feet.

Before they could move anywhere, however, the doors to the atrium burst open and a flurry of shouts echoed across the floor.

"Fall back! Fall back! They're overrunning our outer perimeter!" a soldier yelled.

At that there was pandemonium with civilians running every which way, defence personnel rushing in from the atrium and Matt and Tai dragging their siblings back to the Digidestined and their families.

Kari now felt her two greatest fears had come true. The undead had breached their defences and they would soon be upon them. But just as crushing was her belief that T.K. was lost to her. She had never felt worse in her life.

* * *

><p>In the plane of darkness, Daemon observed the progress of his minions through a small dimensional rift that levitated gently in the palm of his hand, a misty orb that seemed almost out of place in the hand of such a dark and wicked being. Seeing the defence forces crumble and retreat brought a sick and twisted joy to him. He cackled malevolently as he watched his undead army storm up the steps and enter the convention centre atrium.<p>

"I have you now Digidestined. Your ends will be my comfort as I die." he hissed venomously as the swirling fog coated him in a veil of darkest grey. This was what he had waited so long for. His moment of vengeance had arrived.


	9. Chapter 9: The Darkest Hour

**Hello again and here is Chapter 9, a little late again so I apologise. I just want to make a note about the next chapter. I will be out of town for half the week and won't have computer etc. access. As a consequence, Chapter 10 will not be posted until Tuesday the 21st at the earliest (save for some miracle or me hitting a hot streak with my writing).**

**Just to respond to the last chapter's reviews:**

**Vigatus: All good things take time, although I'm still working on pacing in my writing so I hope I don't draw it out too long. But worry not, the action is now returning.**

**Mimato love 4ever: Thanks, I'm glad you enjoyed that chapter and I hope this one is also long enough and to your liking :)**

**Aizawa Li Syaoran Vessalius: I now give you the return of the action, although it's not full blown at this point. It will get more intense in the next chapter or two.**

**Lastly, thank you to pyrorynox, samaelfell and Valechan92 for adding this to your story alerts and to Dracula X for the favourite. It's nice to see more and more people taking an interest in my writing, for what it's worth.**

**So, all I have left to say is for you all to enjoy and to not hesitate to leave any thought and/or comments you may want to share in the reviews section.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Digimon or any of the characters, they are the property of Toei Animation.**

An echoing bang rang across the main floor of the convention centre as the living dead threw themselves against the doors in a furious effort to gain entry. Inside, packed together liked trapped rats, were the many hundreds of surviving Odaiba citizens who had fled their homes and places of work the day before. But now, as the midnight hour approached, the scourge that had forced them to flee had caught up and was now threatening to overwhelm what defences were left.

A hundred or so defenders, culled together from the military, police force and private security companies, had attempted to hold off the walking corpses of friends and loved ones, but to no avail. Barely a dozen had survived the onslaught of the undead army and even their veteran leader, Colonel Takagi, had fallen to the horde. Those that remained barricaded the doors with their own bodies in an attempt to stave off final and lasting defeat.

As the remaining defenders braced themselves for another impact on the doors, Tai and the other Digidestined looked on helplessly, waiting for the inevitable. The Digidestined and their families had resisted the urge to pack what few belongings they had left, knowing that if and when they would have to make a break for it, they would be best off travelling without any added baggage. As Tai watched the remaining defenders trying desperately to keep the undead out, he knew the time to flee was fast approaching.

As Tai stood silently with his sister and their parents, he looked around to the other Destined. They had grouped themselves into their families and were huddled together, not taking their eyes off the doors. All seemed to be afraid for their own lives and for the lives of their friends and family, however, there was one individual who caught the leader's eye.

Davis, who stood silently with his parents, looked as though he was about to break down and cry. No one else seemed to have noticed, and to Davis's credit he was hiding his apparent distress well. Tai, however, could see through his friend's façade. While the younger goggle boy had managed to maintain a blank facial expression, his body language betrayed his fragility. Instead of his normal upright, energetic posture, Davis stood with his limbs tucked tightly towards him body, almost as if he was subconsciously trying to curl up into a ball. His breathing had grown heavier as well and, to Tai's great surprise, his hands were also visibly shaking.

If anyone else had shown these signs, Tai would normally have let it slide; fear would cause similar reactions in most people. But Davis was not your average person. Even in his greatest battles, Tai had never known him to let his fear or anything else affect him like it was now. Arukenimon and Mummimon, Blackwargreymon, Daemon himself and even Malomyotismon had never done anything like this to Davis. To see his friend like this was shocking to Tai. Beyond everything, Davis could always be counted on to be tough, resolute and to never surrender. Now, seeing him like this, Tai was not so sure that these things could be expected of the younger leader.

As Tai pondered this one of the last remaining soldiers gathered the attention of the civilians.

"Everybody!" the young man shouted, his voice resonating with panic, "We can't hold the doors for long! I need all of you civilians to make a run for it out the rear doors, past the storage area!"

"But won't they be waiting for us out there?" a middle-aged woman yelled back fearfully.

"Probably." the soldier replied bluntly.

"Then why are you telling us-" a young man piped up before the young soldier cut across him.

"Everyone, it's either you run now and risk it or stay here and die!" he shouted hurriedly at them.

At that the crowd realised he was right. They could either chance it by fleeing or stand no chance at all by staying and waiting for the undead to break in. Tai gulped, knowing that their odds of survival were slim. But they had little choice in the matter. They would have to run for it.

As the Digidestined and their families readied themselves the rest of the civilians all got a head start and simultaneously dashed for the storage area and what they hoped would be a clean getaway. At that moment, as though the living dead had sensed and been enlivened by the newly stirred alarm and desperation, there was a thunderous crash and several yells of pain and exhaustion as the defenders holding the doors finally broke and the undead hordes came flooding in.

Utter pandemonium ensued. What little order and cohesion the civilians had had was now swept away by the wave of terror and alarm the undead brought with them. Everyone scrambled for the exit, hoping that they would make it out alive. For many, their wishes would not come true.

As the screaming began, Tai grabbed hold of his sister's arm and beckoned his friends and family to follow. At first he thought they all had, but as he looked back he saw Davis, rooted to the spot his eyes wide with fear. He and his parents had been at the back of the pack, and, from what Tai could see, his mother had fallen and hurt her ankle.

Thinking fast, Tai pushed Kari forwards and headed back for Davis.

"Tai, what are you doing?" Kari screamed at him in disbelief.

"Just go Kari! I have to get Davis!" Tai yelled back, determined to save his friend.

As Tai reached Davis, he saw that Matt and T.K. had noticed as well and had come to assist. The two brothers went straight to Mrs Motamiya to get her on her feet and moving, while Tai grabbed Davis by the wrist. However, when Tai pulled him, he encountered resistance. Davis refused to move from where he stood. His fearful expression had not changed, as though the boy was frozen in time.

"Davis, c'mon!" Tai shouted at him hurriedly, but received no response.

Seeing he would have to carry Davis, Tai picked him up and hoisted him onto his shoulders, like a soldier would his wounded comrade. It helped that Davis was slim and rather light, care of his athletic pursuits, but Tai still found it difficult to stay on the move while carrying him. Matt and T.K. had already caught up to Tai, both holding up Davis's mother.

Still not satisfied, the undead flesh eaters abandoned the mauled, bloodied corpses of those they had already caught and killed and took interest in the Digidestined.

"Fuck, not good!" Tai yelled in horror and frustration as the living dead charged towards them.

However, at the last moment, their saviour leapt in. Davis's father, wielding what appeared to be a fallen soldier's combat knife, jumped between the advancing undead and Tai's group.

"Get out of here! I'll hold them off!" he shouted to them.

This seemed to wake Davis up, and he and his mother both screamed for Mr Motamiya to escape with them. Their pleas fell on deaf ears, however, as the man stabbed an advancing flesh eater, before turning to slash another. His line had been drawn; there was no retreat for him now.

"GO!" he screamed at them hysterically as the undead continued towards them.

Ignoring Davis's pleas, Tai ran as fast as he could, with Matt, T.K. and Mrs Motamiya close beside him. As Tai and the others made it through to the storage area doors, he heard Mr Motamiya's bone chilling scream as he was overwhelmed. At that, Davis's yelling stopped and he fell limp, a dead weight on Tai's shoulders as they fled the killing ground that was the convention centre.

* * *

><p>Sora ran as fast as she could. With her mother in tow, she could only think of getting to safety. They had burst out into the darkness, covered by a cloudy sky, and cleared the convention centre. Now they were sprinting across the rear courtyard, where a tree line provided some temporary cover. When they finally reached it, Sora slowed down and caught her breath.<p>

Seeing that her mother was alright she looked to the rest of the group, who had managed to stick together. Almost immediately, though, she noticed that something was wrong. There were members of their group who she could not see. Matt and T.K. were both missing, as were Davis and his parents. However, Sora then spotted Kari looking incredibly distressed without her brother, or T.K. for that matter, beside her. Her heart skipped a beat.

"Where's Tai?" she said worriedly, loud enough for all the others to hear.

The absence of various members of the group no longer went unnoticed. The Kamiyas went pale and turned to Kari, who seemed to be on the brink of tears. Hiroaki Ishida and Nancy Takaishi were now also frantically looking around for their sons and the fact that Davis was missing had seemingly hit the other families.

Without thinking, Sora snatched Yolei by the wrist and pulled her away from her parents and siblings. Grabbing the younger girl by the shoulders, Sora spoke sternly to her.

"Yolei, look after my mother." she said before turning and heading back in the direction of the convention centre.

"Sora wha-" Yolei began.

"Just do as I say!" Sora snapped as she boldly broke into a run.

"Sora!" Toshiko Takenouchi called after her daughter, but the redheaded girl ignored her mother as she went in search of the most important person in her life.

Dashing between low walls, cropped bushes and various directional signs, Sora went from cover to cover, focused solely on the back exit she had only just escaped from. Some other survivors were still scurrying out of the convention centre and the few undead that had not rushed through the front doors and lingered outside had caught sight of these stragglers and now gave chase, growling like ravenous dogs as they relentlessly hunted their prey. Still, there was no sight of that head of bushy brown hair, or any of the other wayward Digidestined.

Grotesque and painful images and scenarios began to creep into Sora's mind. Had they been taken by Daemon's scourge? Was it already too late? Sora could never forgive herself if that was the case. The girl had not even noticed that they were missing until she herself was safely outside. She could not stand the thought that selfish short-sightedness on her part may have contributed to their deaths. Most painful of all, she knew that she was yet to tell Tai what she felt for him; to lose her best friend and the object of her desire and yet still have kept secrets from him was something which she could not abide.

But fate was to be merciful to her that day, as the missing group emerged suddenly from back doors. She gasped with relief as she sprinted towards the group. Before she reached them, however, Sora noticed that something was wrong. Davis was thrown over Tai's shoulders like a rag doll, and Mrs Motamiya was being supported by the two brothers. Most ominous of all, Davis's father was nowhere in sight.

"Tai, where is-" she began, but received her answer in the form of a grim shake of Tai's head.

Sora's hand flew to her mouth in shock. She had thought that her father's death would be it, the beginning and end of the group's tragedy. But now she found herself to have been sorely mistaken, as Daemon's sinister and hateful plot had claimed yet another of the Digidestined's loved ones.

"Sora, where's everyone else?" Matt asked hastily, constantly swivelling his head to check for undead.

"They're just over-" she began, but was interrupted by Joe as he raced over to them.

"Sora, what the hell are you-" he started.

"No time!" Tai interjected as he spotted a small mob of flesh eaters shuffling around the corner, no doubt in search of fresh meat to feed their insatiable hunger.

"This way." Sora beckoned and she led them back to the tree line where the others still found cover.

When they reached the hiding spot, Matt and T.K.'s parents immediately demanded to know what their sons had been thinking, while similar treatment was given to Tai as he deposited Davis against a tree trunk. Izzy's father was the first to notice that one of their number was no longer among them.

"Wait, what happened to your father Davis?" Masami Izumi asked with trepidation.

Sora looked to Tai as he stepped forward to tell them the grim news.

"He's-" Tai began before Davis erupted.

"He saved us! Told us to go… I-I didn't want-" he stammered as large, painful tears trickled down his face.

As Davis continued, the others all stood in shock. Surely they could not have lost another. Sora fought back her own tears, formed in sympathy for the teenager, whose pain now mirrored her own. She bit her lip, not wanting to succumb needlessly to a grief that was not her own. But their moment of mourning was not to last in such a hostile environment.

Hearing a chorus of loud growls and moans, everyone's attention snapped back towards the convention centre. Standing just outside the storage room doorways was a pack of five undead killers, all of which had clearly heard Davis's outpouring of anguish. Time stood still as the two groups stared at one another, the silence only broken by the distant screams echoing through the dark and cloudy night.

The moment was not to last, however, as the undead broke into a run, charging towards their newfound victims. Only one word came to mind.

"Run!" Sora and a few others yelled.

They all moved frantically, Tai hauling Davis to his feet, Mrs Motamiya now being supported by Izzy and his father and Yolei helping Sora with her mother. Yet with all their haste they could not escape before Daemon's minions were upon them. It was like a cat among the pigeons as one of Yolei's older sisters was brought down by three of the living dead. Her screams drew the purple haired girl's eyes to the sight of her sister being mauled, her blood gushing out onto the cold soil.

"Chizuru!" Yolei screamed in terror, not wanting to believe the horrifying sight before her.

She was not given time to see her sister's death, as Sora called to Matt, who promptly grabbed the girl by the waist and hauled her away before the other monsters could grab her. Yolei protested, beating Matt's arms with her fists and screaming wildly for him to let her go, but Sora could focus on none of this as she shepherded her mother away, not caring which direction she chose.

The hysteria had retaken her mind and she lost sight of all else. Only the memory of her sickening prior anxiety made her look for Tai as she ran. The Digidestined leader was not far behind her, pulling Davis along as he sprinted away from the infected predators. Reassured he was still with her, Sora ran on, not caring where they were headed. Her only thought was to escape. There was no time for thought, only action as Sora, with her mother in tow, ran blindly into the murky night.

* * *

><p>Agumon rested quietly as he observed the slow, fluid movements of the fish outside of Gennai's house. The Digimon and the digital man had so far put in over a full day of work into their attempt to breach the sealed barriers of the Dark Ocean. Results had been promising and their progress steady. Gennai had assured them that they may even manage to break through before their original estimate of three days. But despite all the good news on their end, Agumon could not help but worry about his partner and the other Digidestined, not to mention the rest of humanity, who Agumon had come to regard highly for the many unique qualities they possessed, not least of which was the production of food.<p>

At the moment both Gennai, Tentomon and Wormmon were once again hard at work breaking down the barriers, the latter two having picked up a wealth of technological skills and knowhow from their partners. As for the rest of the Digimon, Gennai had told them to relax and prepare for the coming battle, as the complex technical process of penetrating dimensional walls was beyond their capabilities and knowledge.

Agumon could feel the weight of responsibility on his shoulders, for the duty of destroying Daemon once and for all had fallen to him alone as he was the only one who could Digivolve beyond the Champion stage. Daemon had been weakened and his deterioration was ongoing, yet the little orange dinosaur could sense that the final showdown would not be an easy one. Somehow, even when victory seemed assured, their enemies had always had one more trick up their sleeve, and while Agumon liked to remain optimistic, he was unable to shake the feeling that Daemon would be no different.

Agumon was so deeply wrapped in his thoughts that he failed to notice the approach of three of his friends.

"What's wrong Agumon?" came a high and chirpy, yet soft and kindly voice.

The dinosaur swivelled in his seated position and saw that Biyomon, Patamon and Gatomon were all now standing behind him, with looks of puzzlement and concern written on their faces. Biyomon, Sora's partner, stood as tall as Agumon, only she was a bird, coloured a hearty pink with blue tips on some of her feathers. Gatomon was Kari's partner and she took the form of a white cat with purple tipped ears and clawed green gloves over her front paws. Lastly, T.K.'s partner Patamon was a small orange backed, white bellied creature, who resembled a large guinea pig with wings protruding from the back of his rounded head.

Smiling weakly, he motioned for them all to sit with him. Not to be deterred, Biyomon again questioned him.

"You look like something's bothering you Agumon. Is something the matter?" she chirped worriedly.

Agumon looked at the pink bird and marvelled at how much like her partner she was. Sora was always the one who had worried about the other Digidestined, looking after them as if she was their big sister. Biyomon was exactly the same with the Digimon, although the sibling analogy held somewhat less meaning for them. It was the same with the others as well, from Tentomon's inheritance of Izzy's smarts to Gabumon's more quiet nature, which he shared with his partner Matt. Of course the Digimon were unique and independent in their own way, such as Gomamon being the antithesis of Joe with his playful and mischievous antics, but it was hard to miss the similarities they had with the Digidestined.

Refocusing on the present and not wishing Biyomon to repeat herself, Agumon voiced his concerns.

"I'm worried about Tai and the others. Did you hear the talk Gennai had with them?" he said gloomily.

"Yeah, we joined in remember?" Biyomon replied, unsure what Agumon was talking about.

"No, the second one they had just a little while ago." Agumon replied.

"They called back? Then why didn't they want to speak to us?" Patamon interjected.

"I don't know, but I overheard the whole thing and I think they're in some serious trouble." Agumon told them.

Patamon and Gatomon both seemed to grow anxious after hearing his words, fearful looks dawning slowly on their faces. Biyomon, on the other hand, was more positive.

"I'm sure it's nothing to worry about. I just know they'll all be fine and we'll all get to see each other very soon." she insisted, smiling warmly at them.

Agumon was not so sure, but hope and joyfulness were like a virus to him, infecting his mind and pushing away all despair and pessimism. He grinned back at Biyomon.

"Your right, and when we do see them again I can have one of those things the humans make." he said cheerily.

"You mean cheeseburgers?" Gatomon purred, rolling her eyes at how Agumon never failed to think of his stomach.

"Yeah, that's it!" Agumon exclaimed excitedly, his mind now dominated by visions of fast food and sweets.

"Just as well because we'll all be so hungry when we've defeated Daemon." Patamon remarked jovially.

At the mention of their foe, Agumon's cheeriness faltered. He was reminded of the onerous task that lay before them, and also of the consequences of failure. But, on top of the dangers that threatened the Digidestined, there was one other thing that troubled him, a nagging uncertainty that rekindled an old fear of his, like the reopening of old wounds.

"Um, Gatomon? Patamon?" Agumon asked, almost timidly.

"Yeah?" they both piped up simultaneously.

"What's the Dark Ocean like?" Agumon questioned, once he had their attention.

"What do you mean?" Patamon replied, bewildered by Agumon's question, "It's dark and there's an ocean… oh and there also this lighthouse- oh wait, no we blew it up because it was a control spire..."

Before Patamon could continue his rambling, Agumon cut in.

"No, no, I mean what does it feel like." he clarified.

"Feel like?" Gatomon and Patamon both said, confused.

"Yeah, um… does it make you feel… evil?" Agumon said awkwardly, choosing not to look directly at them.

Patamon and Gatpomon just looked at him in puzzlement, unsure what to make of Agumon's words. Biyomon, however, had figured out what he was getting at.

"You're remembering turning into Skullgreymon, aren't you?" she probed gently, concerned for her friend.

"Yeah." Agumon replied simply, his tone betraying his embarrassment.

Biyomon patted the troubled little dinosaur on the back with her wing, trying to provide what little comfort she could.

"It's OK Agumon, you're not going to become that big walking skeleton again." she assured him.

"Yeah, all that's in the past now." Patamon added as he took flight and hovered in front of Agumon.

"They're right you know." came a new voice.

The four Digimon turned around in surprise to see Gennai standing casually behind them. It seemed as though he had been there for almost the entire conversation. Not waiting for a response, Gennai continued.

"The negative energy of the Dark Ocean is insidious, but as long as you remain true to your noble goals and values you will not become the monster you fear." he said knowingly.

"Really?" Agumon asked hopefully.

"Of course my friend." Gennai replied with a warm smile.

"Yes!" Agumon and the others cheered, jumping up and down in relief.

"However… I cannot say the same for Daemon." Gennai revealed, interrupting their celebrations.

"What?" they all questioned, taken by surprise.

"The negative energies of the Dark Ocean will not affect you, but Daemon will be empowered by them." he informed them grimly, his face now showing no trace of the smile he had worn only seconds earlier.

"But I thought-" Gatomon began.

"He is becoming weaker, he is a shadow of his former self and his full disintegration is inevitable." Gennai cut across her, "However, he is still able to draw power from the Dark Oceans power to fuel his own."

"Why didn't you tell us sooner, and why didn't you say anything to Tai and the others?" Agumon demanded, shocked that Gennai would keep something like that from them.

"This is not the Digidestined's battle; I did not wish to worry them, and I did plan on telling you before you left to fight him." Gennai insisted, "But you need not worry. As Wargreymon, you are more than a match for his failing powers, Agumon."

Like the slowly rising sun, Gennai's smile returned to his face, again to reassure the Digimon. Agumon himself was still very much unsure, especially in light of this new information. Nevertheless, he still trusted Gennai and knew that while the digital man could be secretive, he would never outright lie to anyone, much less to the Digidestined or their Digimon.

Agumon nodded at Gennai to show he had accepted his words. At this, Gennai excused himself and returned to work with Tentomon.

"Worry not, you will succeed." Gennai's parting words hung in the air long after he left.

"I hope so." Agumon whispered.

The four Digimon began observing the fish outside again. They watched and envied the seemingly simple lives of the small creatures; if only they and their partners could return to the endless peace these fish lived everyday. The hour of their departure to the field of battle was drawing ever nearer, and still Agumon's mind was filled with doubt. Time was not on their side and every moment they waited the Digidestined were still in danger.

* * *

><p>The early hours of the morning in Odaiba brought a blood red sun to the horizon, a reflection of the events of the past two days. The dead littered the streets, many roaming mindlessly, searching for more human prey and others too badly mauled to be reanimated as a walking carcass. Yet still, the Digidestined had defied the deadly onslaught of their enemy. But now they no longer stood together, united as one.<p>

Matt stared forlornly at a row of lockers in the police station they had sought for shelter. Scanning the room, he saw their broken group in the same depressed state he was in.

When they had been attacked by the group of undead outside the convention centre, they had been forced to split up in order to reach safety. Most of the Digidestined had managed to stick together, but some had been separated from the main group. Joe, Izzy and Ken had last been seen following the families in the opposite direction, but now none of them knew what had become of them. Now Matt, Tai, Sora, Sora's mother, Mimi, T.K., Kari, Yolei, Davis and Cody were on their own, hiding away in the now abandoned police station.

Matt was glad he had managed to stay together with T.K.; if his little brother had gone missing there would have been no end to his torment. Still, Matt worried about his parents. Although he only saw his mother on occasion he loved her just as much as his father, with whom he lived. Their family had been torn up enough in the past with the divorce; Matt did not want to have to deal with anymore heartache than he already had to.

Tai, Sora and Cody had gone to search the station for whatever supplies they could find to help them all stay alive, leaving Matt to watch after the others, a grim task to be sure. Of the six others in the room with him, two had lost family members only a few hours before. Davis had lost his father, who had died holding off Daemon's minions while the teenagers had escaped. One of Yolei's older sisters had also been taken, eaten alive during the attack that had split them all up, much to the girl's shock and mortification. Now, for all they knew, there could be even more losses among the wayward members of their group.

For their part, T.K. and Kari were each comforting one of their friends, while Mrs Takenouchi slept in the corner, worn out from the events of the night. On the part of the comforters, Kari held Yolie's hand while T.K. sat with Davis. While there seemed to be no obvious reason to think so, Matt could not seem to shake the odd feeling that something was wrong between T.K. and Kari. He had sensed something since he and Tai had interrupted them the night before, just before the undead breached the convention centre defences. Now, there was a strange tension between the pair, one that Matt could not readily describe. It was as if they had become disconnected from each other, something no one thought was even possible for the two of them. Regardless, Matt planned to discuss it with Tai when he returned.

"You think we're going to get out of this?"

Matt jerked in fright, having not noticed that Mimi had come and sat beside him. He was still able to quickly regain his composure and address her question.

"Of course I d-" he began, but Mimi cut in.

"Matt, you don't have to sugar coat it. You can be honest with me." she said soberly, her expression unreadable and her eyes fixed firmly in front of her.

Matt stared at her for a second, not expecting her latter request. He then sighed and decided to be straight with her.

"In all honesty I have no idea, but the odds sure as hell aren't in our favour." he told her solemnly.

"I thought so too." Mimi replied simply as she continued to stare off into space.

The two them lapsed into an uncomfortable silence. The uttered truth was no different than that which they had held inside, but now that it had been given voice the two found it almost instantly harder to deal with, as if their demise had been assured by their now open doubts. The truth might set you free, but Matt wondered just how desirable that freedom really was.

His gloomy line of thought was broken as Tai, Sora and Cody returned from their search for supplies and re-entered the locker room. Matt rose to his feet, eager to hear some good news.

"Did you guys find anything useful?" he asked.

"Quite a bit actually." Tai replied as he, Sora and Cody walked into the centre of the room and laid their findings out on a collapsible table they had all found when they arrived.

Matt observed the haul with interest. Thankfully they had found some food, enough for at least a day or two, as well as extra pairs of clothes. They may have mainly been oversized tracksuits, but Matt knew they were better than nothing. But just as important as the clothes and food were several first aid kits. Joe was not with them, but at least they had some means of treating injuries should they occur.

"We found the food in the a little kitchen area towards the back of the station." Sora explained, "The first aid kits came from the supply room along with the clothes."

"Great. So long as those things don't find us here we should be able to live off of this." Matt said, masking his uncertainty with optimism.

"We also found this." Tai added hesitantly, reaching into his back pocket.

Matt recoiled in disbelief as Tai produced a pistol and placed it on the table. Its dark grey, plastic finish gave it an ominously bleak aura, as if the weapon itself sought to scare away any who intended to wield it. Matt's concern quickly turned to frustration.

"Tai, how could you even think of picking that thing up?" Matt demanded angrily, his fist clenched tightly at his sides, catching the attention of Davis, Yolei and their respective comforters, who had, up until then, been absorbed in their own issues. Mrs Takenouchi, however, remained in her state of slumber.

"Matt, we need something to defend ourselves with." Tai insisted, holding his hands up defensively.

"We've been lucky so far, but we can't just rely on running away to stay safe." Sora added calmly.

Matt unclenched his fists, his anger residing. He still was not happy with the idea of using a gun, though. The blond grimaced as he eyed the pistol warily.

"I don't know about this." he said uncomfortably, moving his hands to his pockets.

"We'll only use it if we have no other choice." Tai assured him.

Giving in, Matt nodded, but his uneasiness was still apparent.

"Does anyone even know how to use one of those?" he pointed out.

The following answer was not just a surprise to him.

"I do." Mimi announced as she approached the table and lifted the gun gently in her hands, examining it with some surprising experience.

Matt and the others just stared at her, utterly dumbfounded by this new revelation. Between this and her outburst towards the parents the day before, Matt thought, it was as if they were not even looking at the real Mimi, like someone had replaced her with an imposter; an imposter that knew how to use a gun.

"Mimi… s-since when have you known how to use one of those?" Sora managed, barely able to keep a straight face.

It was then that Mimi seemed to realise how casually she had declared her knowledge and her cheeks reddened at Sora's question. She giggled nervously and she began to blush even more heavily as the others continued to stare at her. Matt could see that, in her discomfort, at least she had not changed completely.

"Um, well, I kind of dated this guy when I was in the US… his name was- well that's not important… er, he was, like, a competitive shooter and he took me to a firing range this one time… alright, more than one time. I went there, like y'know, thinking it would be terrible, but I- I actually kind of enjoyed it. He was cool and I guess I never really forgot what I learned and… um, yeah." Mimi rambled embarrassedly, her words flowing uncontrollably like water from an open dam.

Matt could not decide what surprised him more; that some guy had taken Mimi on a date to a firing range, or that Mimi had actually enjoyed it. Still he could manage no words and continued to stare at Mimi with wide, disbelieving eyes.

Mimi giggled sheepishly and shuffled uncomfortably on the spot before turning to Tai.

"So, how many rounds do we have?"

* * *

><p>Like a deadly flood, the living dead poured through the streets and alleys of Odaiba, searching without relent for their elusive targets. At first they had been allowed to feast on and infect any human they saw. But then their master had begun to grow impatient. Death had not come to the Digidestined as quickly as he had desired. Nowhere could the teenagers be found. The minions of the evil monster, usurper of the dark realm of grey and shadow, had scoured the city endlessly, but with no success.<p>

But then, frustration turned to hope for final victory when the last human sanctuary was discovered. Quickly surrounded, there had been no escape. Or so the digital demon had wanted to believe. His rage had been all consuming as he found that, once again, his quarry had eluded him.

This was an insult to his now fading glory. His vengeance was not to be denied him, not when he had come so far and been so close. These brats had no right to defy his will. His end was now inevitable, but even in death there would be victory. If he was to die, he would take his greatest and most hated enemies with him. There would be no second humiliation; now there could only be death, cold as the world he now ruled.

These thoughts dominated the mind of Daemon as he mercilessly drove his undead puppets onward. His anger was matched only by his determination and bloodlust, at no time before had he ever been so intense. Daemon would search until his final moments for the Digidestined. They could not elude him forever.


	10. Chapter 10: Divided We Fall

**My deepest apologies for how late this is, but I just hit a mental block with this chapter. I've also started back at uni now, so updates will take more time than they have previously. I wish I could be on holidays permanently, but unfortunately the call to be a productive member of society is too powerful to ignore :/ .**

**I got a little lazy with editing towards the tail end of the chapter, so if it stuff doesn't make grammatical sense in places let me know and I'll fix it up ASAP. Other than that I just have some review responses:**

**Dracula X: Thanks, and I did consider Myotismon, but I personally find that he was overused as a villain. I really didn't think it was a good idea to bring him back in Adventure 02 (others would disagree with me, but that's just my opinion), so I'm loathe to use him as a villain in a fic set post 02.**

**Aizawa Li Syaoran Vessalius: Thanks again, and I kind of just want to work with one firearm. I know there would be more, but I think a single gun just fits a bit better with the mood – a gradual action build up if you know what I mean.**

**Mimato love 4ever: I though Mimi's gun skills would be a bit of a surprise and I definitely had a smile on my face as I was writing it.**

**Vigatus: Thanks, glad you enjoyed the last chapter.**

**morales8: Hope you enjoy this chapter as well.**

**Also thanks to StarPurpleandBlue, sicko323 and morales8 for the favourite. I've gotten a lot of traffic on this story following the last chapter and I'm really thankful that everyone reviewing is so kind and supportive. I hope you all enjoy this chapter and don't hesitate to leave any thought and/or comments you may want to share in the reviews section.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Digimon or any of the characters, they are the property of Toei Animation.**

Life was not fair. Life was never fair. This was all Joe could think about as he sat silently with Izzy and Ken, watching the midday sun through the smudged window. Once again, the Digidestined had been torn apart by disaster, and now neither Joe nor his two remaining companions knew what had become of their friends.

In all the commotion of the previous night the three teenagers had managed to stick with the families. They had run for what seemed like hours, but in reality had merely been a little over thirty minutes. All out of breath, they came across a hotel, from where another survivor had emerged, lead pipe in hand and yelled at them to get inside as quick as possible. It had then occurred to Joe that it had been naïve of him to think that the convention centre was the only stronghold for survivors. It was one of the rare occasions he did not mind being proven wrong.

But despite their good fortune at finding safety, they were still without a good number of their group. Tai, Sora, Matt, Mimi, T.K., Kari, Cody, Davis and Yolei, as well as Sora's mother, had all been separated from them during the attack that claimed the life of Chizuru Inoue, one of Yolei's older sisters. Her death had come mere minutes after Davis's father was killed, holding off the undead as the others escaped. Indeed, the night before had been one of great loss for them all.

As Joe looked around the first floor restaurant of the hotel, where they had been ever since they arrived, he saw the pain and sorrow amongst the families. Yolei's parents and remaining siblings were huddled together, giving each other what little comfort they could in the wake of Chizuru's death and Yolei's disappearance. The two parents in particular were worst affected. Mr Inoue had his head bowed as he sobbed quietly into his wife's shoulder. Yolei's mother, however, seemed beyond tears and she stared blankly off into space; her eyes were lifeless, all light having left them.

Not far from the Inoues was Mrs Motamiya, and of all the people in their group, she was hardest to watch. Her husband was now dead, her son missing and her daughter, while safe, was halfway across globe. She was alone, and while Ken's parents sat with her in the hope of providing some solace there was little that could truly be done for her. Without her loved ones by her side she was lost in her time of mourning.

Most of the other families, although they had not yet lost anyone, were still deeply worried about their missing children. The Kamiyas, Tachikawas, Hidas and Mr Ishida and Ms Takaishi all displayed the deep concern they all clearly felt. It was difficult for Joe to see all of them so depressed and disheartened, especially when his family had so far avoided the spectre of death.

Joe had been at home when the outbreak had occurred, on break from university, although that had not stopped the bearer of reliability from diligently studying. Joe's brothers had thankfully all been abroad at the time as all three had graduated their degrees and their jobs, interestingly all non-medical, took them right around the world, a stroke of good fortune that had saved Joe and his parents from endless pain and worry. But while he was undeniably relieved that all of his close family were safe, Joe could not help but feel slightly guilty at his own luck. Surely everyone else deserved peace of mind about their own families, and while he considered his friends to be the same as family, Joe knew that it was not quite the same as losing or fearing for one's own child.

On top of his guilt, Joe was also dealing with a strong sense of uselessness. Most of his friends were missing, he and everyone else were trapped in a hotel waiting for everything to blow over and their enemy was isolated in another dimension where they could not reach him. All Joe could do was wait for the Digimon to defeat Daemon. Until then there was no other option but to hide from the undead and hope for the best.

The blue haired teen sighed. What could he do? There was no way he could leave to search for the others, it would be suicide. But, with each passing minute, Joe was giving more and more consideration to the idea. Tai, Matt, Sora and the others would risk their lives to seek him out if he were missing. How could he consider doing any less for them? They were all friends to the end and Digidestined for life and Joe knew it. He felt that every second he waited was a betrayal of sorts; he was letting down his friends by doing nothing and the bearer of reliability could not abide by this.

As he contemplated this, Joe turned his head slowly to the side and locked eyes with Izzy, who it seemed had also been deep in thought. Joe could tell by his worried expression that he too was thinking of their friends. The two regarded each other, reading what little they could of their opposite's thoughts. Finally Izzy spoke.

"They're out there somewhere, y'know." he said simply, his tone low and even.

"I know. I feel like we should be out there looking for them." Joe replied solemnly.

Izzy nodded and turned his face forwards again.

"Yeah, but we can't exactly just go gallivanting off into the streets; odds are we'd be killed." he pointed out sadly.

Joe sighed and returned to his strained and conflicting thoughts again. No matter how hard he tried, though, he could not dismiss the responsibility he felt towards his friends. They would risk life and limb to find him. He owed them that much at least.

A few minutes later his mind was made up. He would leave in search of the other, and no one was about to stop him. He turned to Izzy, ready to explain his plan.

* * *

><p>Davis had not spoken since the night before. His normal exuberance had faded away and had been replaced by a cold and lifeless demeanour. This matched what he felt inside. All happiness had left him, hope and enthusiasm had evaporated from his mind and, like ice in the hot sun, his strength and energy had melted away. For the first time in living memory he was still, seated in silence in the corner of the police station locker room.<p>

T.K. had sat with him since they had first arrived at the station, trying in vain to get some kind of response. But Davis simply could not bring himself to say anything. How, he thought, could he respond to T.K. and answer any of his questions when he could not even figure out what was going on inside his own head? After a few hours the Takaishi boy had given up and moved off, probably seeking out Tai or Matt for assistance.

Davis had felt different ever since the outbreak. For the first time in a long time he had felt vulnerable, like he was no longer the invincible, indefatigable leader he liked to see himself as. It was strange. He had only rarely ever thought of his own safety and mortality, always willing to go head first and pull out a victory, whether it be on the sporting field or on the field of battle. This time around, however, with death surrounding him and now with the loss of his father, he was looking at life and himself in an entirely new manner. For once he was afraid, truly scared that maybe they would not be so lucky, maybe they would not be able to cheat death this time, maybe he would not be alive to see the end of Daemon's wrath.

Davis was in no mood to talk, not to anyone. Nevertheless, as he slowly raised his head to see what the others were doing, he spotted Tai and T.K. heading over to him, both wearing concerned yet determined expressions. Davis groaned inwardly as they came up to him and sat down, one on either side.

For a few awkward seconds there was silence, a thick and heavy fog that permeated every fibre of Davis's being. He could literally feel the quietness suffocating him as he sat there. After some time, T.K. spoke up.

"Are you alright Davis?" the blond asked simply, a clear air of concern in his voice.

Was he alright? How could T.K. ask so stupid a question? Of course he was not alright. Davis had no idea how anyone could possibly conceive him to be anything less than devastated. The spiky haired teen understood T.K.'s concern, but his enquiry just made him angry. Davis resolved to not even give a response, as if T.K.'s answer was not obvious enough.

"C'mon man, give us something." Tai prodded, not taking the hint that Davis wished to be left alone; that or he was ignoring it.

Still Davis was in no mood to speak. In truth, he was not snubbing them because he was angry or annoyed. If he was honest with himself, it was really because he was afraid. He was scared that they would think less of him, that he was a coward and that he was letting them all down. Davis hated all of those possibilities. He was never one to abandon his friends and he could not stand the thought of being seen as a coward. The idea was sickening to him.

"Davis, we're not going anywhere until you at least talk to us. Please, we're worried about you." Tai pleaded.

Davis was now desperate to just get them off his back. Much like Tai, lying was not his strong suit, but by this point he was willing to do anything for some peace. Ignoring T.K. was one thing, but his mentor and one of his best friends together was much tougher.

"You want me to talk? Fine, I'll talk." he snapped, "I'm fine and you worrying about me is pointless."

Davis saw both T.K. and Tai frown, clearly unimpressed and unsatisfied with his cold and rather rude response.

"How many times have we heard that line and it's been an utter lie?" Tai questioned rhetorically, receiving a nod from T.K.

Davis grumbled bitterly. Was there no way to get these two to back off?

"Davis, for goodness sake, just talk to us, please." T.K. implored.

Davis wanted none of it. He was going to hide the truth from them, lock it away so that no one could see his weakness, his fear. Davis simply crossed his arms and leant back against the wall, refusing to open his mouth again.

"Davis this isn't like you." T.K. insisted desperately, "I know you've just lost your dad, but it's more than that, I can tell."

Davis could hear every word of T.K.'s, the worry and sincerity in his voice. It was hard for him to ignore the pleas of his friends. Still, though, he remained silent, giving nothing away as the seconds ticked by following T.K.'s words. Tai, however, seemed prepared to push harder.

"Davis, I expected more from you. You're supposed to be a leader, but how are you supposed to do that if you can't be honest and open with people?" he challenged, "How can we even count on you if you can't even trust us, your closest friends, with what you're going through?"

At that Davis snapped. He was not going to be spoken to like that and not stand up for himself. How could Tai even say that? To be talked down at by someone he respected so much was truly upsetting to Davis, but the hurt quickly turned to anger as he rounded on his mentor.

"Fuck you Tai! You wanna know what I'm thinking? Then I'll tell you!" he exploded furiously, "I'm scared! Fucking scared! You get it? Everyone's dying and maybe, for once, I don't wanna die too! I don't wanna get eaten alive by some crazy zombie thing!"

Davis felt T.K. recoil a little at his outburst, as well as the eyes of all the others being trained on him, but Tai maintained his composure with a calm expression on his face. The older leader had not been taken aback by what his younger counterpart had said, almost like he had been expecting it; that or he was hiding his surprise very well. This infuriated Davis. He had wanted to shock him, to get Tai to back down, go away and leave him to his shame. Instead he just sat there, as if nothing out of the ordinary had happened. Seeing as no one else seemed willing to speak, Davis continued on his rant.

"Are you happy now? You happy that I've embarrassed myself now?" he yelled angrily, any semblance of self-control having vanished from him.

Now Tai reacted. His steady, almost stoic expression softened, revealing a look of deep concern.

"Davis I want to help you, but-" he tried to explain, but Davis wanted none of it.

"Just shut up!" Davis bellowed as he jumped to his feet and stormed off, leaving the locker room in a huff, not caring where his feet were taking him.

* * *

><p>T.K. watched Davis storm out, too shocked at what had just transpired to stop him. He was unsure as to what surprised him more, how harsh Tai had been or how Davis had reacted.<p>

As T.K. sat there stunned, he saw Sora and Matt approach Tai.

"Tai, I realise Davis needed some help, but don't you think that was a little too insensitive?" Sora asked carefully.

"Insensitive is an understatement. Seriously, what were you thinking?" Matt questioned more aggressively.

Tai grimaced. It looked to T.K. as if the older leader was already regretting saying what he did to Davis.

"That's just it; I wasn't thinking. I was just so hell bent on getting something out of him that I didn't stop and think through what I was saying." Tai admitted, his voice full of shame.

Sora and Matt both sighed.

"Well we should probably try to start repairing some of the damage, I suppose." Matt stated wearily, evidently not in the mood to go chasing after anyone.

"I'll go; I'm the one who set him off, so it's my responsibility to fix it." Tai said, still clearly feeling guilty.

"I'll come with you." Sora offered, receiving a thankful and affectionate nod from Tai.

The pair quickly left the room in search of Davis, leaving the others to wonder how exactly they would deal with him when they found him. T.K., for one, hoped they could at least get him to calm down and return to them, if not fully open up to them.

In the wake of their departure, T.K. looked around at the others who remained. Mimi held the gun that Tai had found and was currently demonstrating how to use it to Matt. Looking across to Cody, T.K. saw that he had found a thin metal pipe and was using it as a substitute for a Kendo stick. The boy was effortlessly practicing his moves off in a corner, appearing to be almost tranquil while doing so. T.K. supposed that, after years of dedication to the martial art, its practice gave him some peace and focus, even in the darkest of times.

At that, T.K.'s eyes fell upon Yolei. The girl was still very much in shock at what she had witnessed the night before. While Davis's outburst had drawn her attention and distracted her, the effect of the drama had not lasted and she had quickly fallen back into her dreadfully saddened state. She was not alone, however. Toshiko Takenouchi sat with the girl, providing what comfort she could.

The older woman had perked up over the last few hours, no longer in a near catatonic state like she had been over the past two days. It seemed as though the loss and heartache suffered by some of the other Digidestined had woken her up, so to speak. T.K. could not quite put his finger on it, but Mrs Takenouchi had clearly come to terms with her husband's death, and while she had by no means gotten over it, she was able to function again, much in the same way as Sora had recovered following her heart to heart with Tai.

T.K. then caught sight of Kari. She had left Yolei's side in order to get some sleep when the sun had begun to rise. Now, she sat isolated on the far side of the locker room from T.K., curled up with her knees up to her chest, not a word escaping her delicate lips.

This had T.K. worried. Earlier he had been trying to catch her attention but had received no response, and while she had been consoling Yolei he was certain that she had noticed him. Kari's seeming disinterest in him both confused and concerned T.K. He could not remember the last time the two of them had been unable or unwilling to speak to one another, and he had thought that, especially now, she would want to be close and talk to him. So the fact she seemed to be segregating herself from him did not make sense to T.K.

T.K. wondered if perhaps he had said or done something to make her angry or upset. She had been fine the previous night, before he had tried and failed to confess to her his feelings. T.K. concluded that it must have had something to do with the conversation he had with her, and with the declaration he had attempted to make.

The Takaishi boy had initially been against saying anything to Kari about how he felt. With the outbreak and the sheer amount of death and destruction caused, he had felt it would be better to wait until after the Digimon had dealt with Daemon. But when they had all been told that the undead had surrounded their shelter, T.K. had been forced to reconsider. He had felt that perhaps it was better she knew, lest the unforeseeable occur and he was no longer able to make that confession. Now he was regretting ever opening his mouth.

T.K. had not said anything overt to Kari, the words he managed were merely an attempt to introduce his admission. At the same time, though, he knew that if anyone could read him it was Kari. He had had so much trouble containing his emotions that he was sure it must have been obvious what he was going to say, even if he never got around to actually saying it. The only conclusion T.K. could come to was that Kari must know how he felt.

Dread filled him, from the pit of his stomach up to his throat; he felt almost like he would throw up. T.K. was positive she knew, and now she was avoiding him, at a time when she would be more likely than usual to want to be with him. To him, that meant only one thing; she did not share his feelings and he had either scared, intimidated or freaked her out. He began breathing heavily, terrified by the possibility that things between them could never be the same, that he had ruined their friendship. Every beat of his heart resonated in his ears like a bomb blast and he harshly gritted his teeth, angry at himself for doing something so rash and stupid. For T.K. there was little that could make the situation worse, save for an onslaught of Daemon's undead minions on their hideout.

As these thoughts were rampaging around his mind, he failed to notice Matt approach and sit down next to him.

"Hey bro, you look a little tense. What's the matter?" the older blond asked with concern.

T.K. jumped in surprise with the abrupt realisation that he had company. Jerking his head in the direction of the question, he saw that it was his brother and he scrambled to provide a quick answer.

"Wha- umm, nothing. Nothing's wrong." he lied shakily.

Matt was not so easily fooled, though, and he frowned at T.K.'s pitiful attempt at deception.

"C'mon little bro, I wasn't born yesterday. It's something to do with you and Kari, isn't it?" he replied pointedly, looking the younger teen dead in the eye.

T.K. baulked at this. How could Matt possibly have figured that out? He had not said anything that he thought would lead his older brother to think that, so how did he know? Perhaps it was a lucky guess, he supposed. Still, T.K. had no idea what to say in reply. Matt, however, beat him to the punch.

"I'll take your silence as a yes." he said with a weak smile that still managed to make him look smug with it plastered on his face.

Accepting that his brother had figured him out, T.K. saw no other option than to admit it.

"Alright yes, but how-" he began.

"Give me a little credit man. First of all, I'm your brother so I know you better than most, and second it's a global disaster in and of itself when you and Kari aren't right next to each other when you're in the same room. It's pretty plain to see." Matt explained himself.

So he was that obvious, T.K. thought. Now it seemed even clearer to him that Kari must have discerned what he was trying to tell her the night before. He solemnly hung his head, defeated. As he did, though, he felt Matt place a warm hand on his shoulder.

"So why are you both having problems? It's not like the two of you to not be talking." he questioned worriedly.

"I think she knows." T.K. sighed sadly while turning his head to look at his brother.

It took Matt a few seconds to catch on, but T.K. soon noticed his eyes widening in surprise.

"Really? That's great. How did she figure that out? Did you tell her?" Matt asked excitedly.

"No it's not great because she doesn't feel the same way and now she's avoiding me." T.K. moaned.

"But how does she know?" Matt queried.

"Last night… I-I was going to tell her…" T.K. revealed shakily.

"Last night…" Matt mused before T.K. saw him realise.

Matt looked at him questioningly and T.K. nodded. The bearer of hope did not wish to explain himself any more than he already had, but his brother's curiosity was not yet satisfied.

"So when me and Tai interrupted you guys….?" he probed.

T.K. again nodded in affirmation, becoming steadily more uncomfortable with Matt's questions.

"But wait a minute. You said you were going to tell her. So how could she possibly know how you feel about her?" Matt asked, confused.

How could she not, T.K. thought. If Matt had been able to figure it out then there was no way that Kari could not have seen through him the night before.

"Matt, she knows me better than anyone. I was gonna tell her and I was being so obvious. She can practically read my mind, there's no way she can't know." he insisted, "And before you ask, she's been ignoring me since then, despite the fact I've been trying to get her attention pretty much non-stop. That can only mean she doesn't feel the same way. Now I've gone and wrecked everything!"

"T.K. stop being so melodramatic, I'm sure this is just a misunderstanding." Matt said earnestly.

His words caught T.K. off guard. 'Melodramatic'? How could Matt say that? T.K. was lamenting the friendship he had ruined, the closest relationship he had with anybody in his life, and now Matt was saying he was overreacting? He was not sure what to feel. Insulted that Matt thought he knew his relationship with Kari better than he did, hopeful that maybe his brother was right or sorrowful at losing his best friend. He was lost in a sea of conflicting emotions and thoughts, nothing making any sense to him at all.

Matt had seemingly sensed T.K.'s confusion as he quickly tried to reassure his brother.

"C'mon T.K., Kari isn't the type to just blow you off for telling her you like her. If you'd gone and said you hated her or insulted her or something then maybe, but I can't see her giving you the cold shoulder for how you feel about her." he told T.K. optimistically.

"How else do you explain how she's acting then?" T.K. asked, unsure of whether he had the confidence to take his brother's word.

"Well I don't know, have you thought to ask her?" Matt replied coolly.

T.K. paused. The thought of asking her had crossed his mind. The thing was, he did not think he could face her yet. She was obviously upset or unhappy with him or something he did and he did not know if he could endure a conversation with her at that point. He felt self pity and frustration bubbling inside of him, like the heated magma of a volcano. But what tempered him, kept him breaking down was the fear; the fear for his life, for her life, his brother's life and his friend's lives, as well as for the friendship he shared with Kari which was the light of his life, the major source of all the enjoyment and happiness he experienced. The fear kept him silent; he could not face her yet.

"I can't talk to her. Not yet, at least." T.K. said sadly.

"Why the hell not? She's right over there." Matt responded, clearly finding his brother's attitude difficult to believe.

"I just can't alright." T.K. told him, raising his voice slightly in frustration.

T.K. thought that Matt would persist, but to his surprise he backed off.

"Alright T.K., you play this how you want." he relented, "But I'm still sure you and her have just misunderstood each other, probably because you haven't talked enough."

T.K. nodded, eager just for some peace so he could think things through a little more clearly. Sensing this, Matt got up and began to walk back over to Mimi.

"Just make sure you talk to her while you still can, little bro. With everything that's happening you're best off seizing every opportunity you can." he said knowingly.

T.K. just sat in silence as his brother walked away. Things just kept getting harder and harder, and the Takaishi boy was caught right in the middle.

* * *

><p>Ken was unsure if he should go through with it. All afternoon, Joe and Izzy had been figuring out the best time to sneak away from their families and the hotel hideout to search for the others. The dark haired genius had listened in silence to their planning, not sure if he should jump in and stop them or give in to his own desire to find his friends.<p>

In truth there was only one thing stopping him. Ken had been agonising about his parents since the beginning of the undead outbreak. Thoughts of his late brother had also resurfaced more heavily than they had in some time. Ken knew too well the pain and anguish his parents had endured with Sam Ichijouji's tragic death and he had long pledged that they would never have to go through the terrible ordeal of losing a child again.

When he had disappeared into the Digital World as the Digimon Emperor, Ken had worried his parents, particularly his mother, half to death. He had long left those days in the past where they belonged, but there had always been a certain twinge of guilt that he had never been able to put behind him, baggage from his past life that he could not seem to shed.

Now, looking at all these things laid out before him, Ken was starting to doubt his role their mission. He knew the dangers well; the constant threat of attack by the undead, who had claimed the lives of hundreds, likely thousands of their fellow Odaiba citizens. It was not his own life he was concerned for, at least not directly. Ken only wanted to preserve his life for the good of his parents. He could not stand the thought of his mother and father living through the death of another child. Sam's death had been too much, and a second lost son would surely overwhelm them with grief and devastation. If he left the safety of their hideout in search of the others there was a good chance that he would not live to tell the tale.

Now, as Joe and Izzy packed a few covertly acquired supplies into the former's satchel bag, Ken knew that the time for him to decide was fats approaching. Despite the urgency of the situation, though, he could manage very little aside from staring at his shoes, lost in thought. Caught between two sides, Ken could not see the right path; he had no idea what to do.

"OK, we've got everything; food, first aid kit, torch…" Joe listed off as he rummaged through his bag, freshly stuffed with all the necessities for survival.

"Even with all the other items, the food will only last us a day or two at most." Izzy pointed out.

"Well we'll just have to find them really fast then." Joe retorted as he continued his last minute checking.

The sun had begun its slow descent in the sky, heralding the time for them to slip away. Ken was out of time. He decided that if he was going to voice his doubts, then now would be the best time.

"Guys, are we sure about this?" he asked timidly, afraid of what Joe and Izzy might say.

"Hmm? Oh yeah, if we leave just before nightfall we can slip away when they hand out the rations, so they won't be paying as much attention to us and we'll also be able to find some shelter for the night." Joe replied, missing the point of Ken's query.

"There's no point searching at night; daylight is a far more favourable time." Izzy added, also misunderstanding Ken's concerns.

"No, I mean are you guys sure about leaving at all." Ken clarified.

The other two were silent for a moment, seemingly confused by Ken's words.

"What do you mean Ken? Don't you want to find the others?" Joe asked, surprised at the young genius.

"I do, but it's so risky… I-I just don't know if we should…" Ken answered, eyes fixed on the floor.

Izzy and Joe looked at each other. Ken might not have been able to read their minds, but it was pretty clear what they were thinking. In their faces, Ken could only see disbelief, they had not expected this of him, especially not now. This filled him with guilt. No matter what decision he made he would be doing something selfish.

"Ken, what's brought this on?" Joe asked carefully.

Ken sighed. There was no way he could lie to them, or evade the question. They deserved to know why he was reluctant to go with them.

"I-it's just that I've been thinking… about my parents." Ken admitted, looking them in the eyes for the first time since their conversation began.

"Your parents?" Izzy repeated, confused.

Ken swallowed harshly before he continued. Words began forming before he could even think about what he was saying.

"When Sam died they went through hell. I was too young at the time to notice it, but looking back I've never seen them more heartbroken." Ken explained soberly, "Then, when I ran off to the Digital World, they went through something similar. I hadn't died, but they thought they had lost me. I… I don't want them to have to go through that again."

Joe and Izzy were silent. Their faces betrayed the conflict brewing within them. Ken could see the realisation of what he was talking about in them. Their friends were not the only ones emotionally invested in them. Their families were also there to be considered. After a few moments, though, Joe spoke.

"We know that our families are there too. I know how I'd probably feel if one of my brothers or parents were killed. But we also have our responsibilities to our friends, to the other Digidestined." Joe declared with rising confidence, "We're not risking our lives for no reason, we're doing it because they'd do the same for us, and we owe them that much."

Izzy nodded, showing his agreement. They both then looked at Ken, waiting to see what he would decide.

In truth Ken was still unsure. Joe was right. Tai, Matt, Sora and the others would undoubtedly put their lives on the line to ensure his safety. Why then should he not do what he felt obliged to do? But then there was still that nagging doubt, the spectre that sat at the back of his mind and plagued him with each passing second. What if he did not make it? What if he was killed?

Ken knew what he wanted to do, but he was still unsure about what he ought to do. In the end there was no right decision, only two paths that could each potentially lead to hurt and sadness. In the end, he thought, it was best he choose the path he wanted. At least then there was a clear choice before him.

Mustering up his courage, Ken made his decision.

"OK, I'll come." he told them.

He received a smile and a nod from both his friends. The way before him now set, Ken readied himself mentally for the search they were about to embark on.

"Alright, they're starting to ration out the food, now's our chance to slip away." Joe whispered, looking over Ken's shoulder at the line starting to form at the other end of the restaurant.

They made it as far as the fire escape before they heard him.

"Ken? Where are you boys going?"

The three teens gulped and turned around, only to be met by the sight of Ken's father, who wore a look of confusion and worry.

"Mr Ichijouji… We were, um… Well we-" Joe stammered, seemingly hoping that a convincing lie would form naturally from his words, but to no avail.

Izzy was also having trouble forming words. He stood there opening and closing his mouth as if each new sentence he thought up was immediately dismissed by his brain before he could manage to say it. Ken could see that this evasiveness was getting them nowhere. He saw no other option than to be honest, at least then they could give his father an answer that did not insult his intelligence.

"Dad, we're going out to find the others." Ken confessed guiltily, not wanting to look his father in the eye.

Ken expected his father to shout, to forbid him to go or to plead that he stay. Why would allow his son to go out into a world infested by flesh eating undead monsters? Ken was to find, though, that he was wrong.

"I thought you might do this sooner or later." Ken's father said sadly, catching his son by surprise.

"W-what?" Ken stuttered, doing a double-take.

His father sighed and approached his son.

"Ken you've grown up so much. You're nearly an adult now and your mother and I often wonder where all that time went." he said mournfully, "We worry about you son, but at the same time you've reached the age where you're starting to make your own decisions."

"Dad what are you saying?" Ken asked, his eyes beginning to water.

"I'm saying that while I want you to be safe, I can't stop you from doing what you think is right. You've reached the age where I feel we can trust your judgement." Ken's father replied.

"D-does Mum feel the same way?" Ken questioned.

"To be honest, she'd put you under lock and key if she knew you were going to do this. But then she doesn't have to know just yet." the man admitted with a weak smile.

Ken had no idea what to say. His father knew what he was going to do and he was going to let him do it. He wanted Ken to stay and be safe, of course, but at the same time he was allowing his son to make his own decisions.

Ever since his stint as the Digimon Emperor, ken had been very close to his parents. Now though, he felt that he had reached a new level of understanding, at the very least with his father. Knowing that there was such trust placed in him, Ken became teary eyed. He wanted to stay and protect his parents from the pain and grief that would come if anything happened to him, but at the same time he felt like he could go out into the streets with Izzy and Joe without any regrets or guilt. Ken was unsure what he should have been feeling. All he knew was that he was now at peace with what he was about to do.

Moving quickly, he hugged his father, whispering his thanks before pulling away and returning to stand beside Joe and Izzy. The man wore a solemn smile, tears forming in the corner of his eyes.

"Just be careful son; come back alive." he managed to say.

"I will." Ken replied simply, returning his father's smile.

"And you two." Ken's father added, looking to Izzy and Joe, "Don't worry about your parents, I'll make sure they're OK. Stay safe boys."

All three nodded, secure in the knowledge that they had some backing from the families. Without further delay, they exited the hotel restaurant and descended down the fire escape stairwell, toward the darkening streets below. There they would face one of the greatest tests of their lives.

* * *

><p>Tai and Sora continued to search for Davis. They had been searching for over half an hour and had so far been unsuccessful. Tai appreciated his younger friend's need to vent, but with Daemon's minions running rampant it was incredibly dangerous to be on one's own.<p>

Tai was not only dealing with his anxiety for Davis's safety, he was also had to contend with his own guilt for setting the boy off. He never meant to do anything but provoke a response from Davis, not to push him over the edge and cause him to blow up in a rage. Nevertheless, despite Tai's good intentions, he knew and accepted that he was responsible for Davis's outburst. Now it was his responsibility to pick up the pieces and try to repair the damage.

"You OK Tai?" Sora asked worriedly, pulling the Digidestined leader from his thoughts.

"I'm fine I guess. I just feel like such a jerk for setting Davis off like that." Tai confessed to her glumly.

"You were a little harsh from what I heard." Sora admitted, "But you can still fix it, and you are not a jerk Tai."

Tai smiled at her words and he felt his cheeks heat up. Although he thought she was humouring him a little, it still felt good to hear her talk about him like that. Tai had no time to dwell on this, though, as Davis was their current priority.

Thankfully, they did not have to look much further. They found him in an office, most likely that of a senior police officer. He bore no trace of tears, but he displayed no happiness in his face. Seeing the two enter he groaned out loud. Tai could tell he was still angry at him.

"What do you want?" Davis spat.

"Davis I'm sorry for talking to you like I did, but can you please at least come back with us." Tai pleaded, seeing no reason to beat around the bush with him.

"Why can't you just leave me alone?" Davis asked irritably.

"Because we're all worried about you Davis. I understand what you're going through, you know that. We just want to help you." Sora beseeched him.

Despite his sullen expression, Tai could tell that Davis was thinking it over. The younger teen was angry, that much was clear, but Tai knew that another part of him was scared and confused. The anger was really just a cover for what Davis was truly feeling, a façade masking his grief and fear.

Tai understood that Davis was not like Sora in that he did not easily share his innermost emotions. He was not the same emotional lone wolf as Matt had once been, but he was nonetheless more emotionally guarded than others. Tai could now see that it was a mistake to push him like he had.

"Please, just come back to the others with us Davis. We won't bother you anymore if you don't want us to." Tai implored.

Davis raised his head at this, a chance for company without being fussed over.

"Fine." he said simply, moving over to them.

"Just remember we're here if you want to talk." Sora offered kindly.

Davis just grunted, not ready to commit to anything just yet. Tai and Sora smiled at one another, happy that they had at least found Davis and got him to return with them. With that they turned back toward the locker room, Davis falling in step behind them.

* * *

><p>"Mimi what's that noise? Are Tai and Sora coming back?" Matt asked as he heard the sound of footsteps in the corridor just outside the locker room.<p>

"I'll check." T.K. said, moving towards the door.

Mimi did not feel any fear at that moment, but she nonetheless loaded the pistol just in case. A frightened yell from T.K. was to validate her readiness as he crashed back through the doorway.

"Shit!" he yelled as he was chased through the door by a pair of undead.

At that, Mimi reacted on instinct. The small amount of casual training she had was all she could rely on. She had not used a firearm in nearly two years, but the adrenaline that had started pumping in her veins was enough to move her to confident positive action.

Without a second thought, she raised the gun and fired two shots. As the echoing crack of the gun sounded and then faded away the room fell silent. The only sound that could be heard was the frightened cries of Tai, Sora and Davis as they ran back to the locker room, terrified of what they might discover.


	11. Chapter 11: Salvation Lies Above

**My deepest apologies for how long this has taken, but uni has been a real struggle. I won't bore you with the details, but basically my brain has been mercilessly beaten up by textbooks, court judgements and lectures, plus I've had to live through a gigantic debacle (read 'biggest sucker punch of 2012 thus far) with Mass Effect 3 (if you're a fan you'll know what I mean, if not you really don't want to know). **

**Those are lousy excuses for tardiness at best, so again I apologise for making you all wait so long. Regrettably, however, this delay is likely to be the same for the next chapter, given that uni is only going to get more intense from here on out.**

**Before I stop prattling on and get to the chapter, I just want to make some responses and thank some people.**

**Vigatus: I tried to vary it a little, but I can see what you mean. I fully admit I'm hardly a talented writer and making unique and diverse character stories is definitely one of my weak points. But thanks for pointing it out, and with any luck I might improve.**

**Mimato love 4ever: Thanks very much. I was umming and ahhing at the time as to how to finish the last chapter and, to be honest, I was kinda hoping the cliffhanger-esque moment wouldn't annoy anyone :P **

**Cima55: Umm, wow. Thanks so much for your kind words, although I'm not sure I deserve them. I basically wrote the characters the way they are because I like it when stories don't completely change up the Digidestined's personalities so I try to emulate that as best I can. Thanks for the story favourite as well.**

**Also thanks to Aizawa Li Syaoran Vessalius for reviewing again, and to Yang Yang Eiyanga, XclosetmonsterX and dbo7776 for subbing and/or favouriting. Alright, this A/N is too long already, hope you enjoy and review if you so desire.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Digimon or any of the characters, they are the property of Toei Animation.**

"What the hell was that?" Tai yelled in alarm as the two sharp cracks echoed down the hallway from the locker room.

"It sounded like a gunshot." Sora replied fearfully.

"Shit, the others." Tai said, panicked.

At this, Tai, Sora and Davis all broke into a run, calling the names of the others as they sprinted towards their locker room hideout. They dreaded what they would find. No one would have fired a shot unless they were attacked, and if the undead had found them there was a good chance that Daemon now knew where they were. That meant that the digital demon lord could bring his army of resurrected corpses to bear against the Digidestined. They were running out of places to hide.

As soon as she had heard the gunshots, Sora's mind went straight to her mother. Apart from Yolei at that point in time, she was the least physically able of their fragmented group and she would face the greatest danger in any engagement with Daemon's minions. Sora cursed their enemy for his crimes and prayed that this time they had escaped disaster.

As they rounded the corner they saw that the doors to the locker room were wide open. But what caught their attention was the pool of blood in the doorway and the pair of legs protruding out from the room. Sora felt the bottom drop out of her stomach. Surely fate would not be so cruel as to take the life of another of their loved ones.

They neared the doors. The blood soaked body on the floor was slowly revealed as the came closer. Sora sighed inwardly with relief as the corpse's face was came into view. It was a total stranger, mutated by Daemon's virus; a brief reprieve from their anxiety.

The trio carefully stepped past the body and moved inside. There was a sharp intake of breath from all three as they spotted a second bloody corpse towards the centre of the room. Fortunately they found relief again when they saw that it was again one of the undead.

It was only then that they took in the rest of the room and the persons within it. Kari, Yolei and Mrs Takenouchi were all huddled in a corner of the room, the remnants of shock and fear still evident in their eyes. Cody stood rooted to the spot, a metal pipe at his feet. He was fixated on the now neutralised undead lying on the floor, a pensive, almost mournful look adorned his face.

The people who drew their attention most sharply, though, were Mimi and the two blond brothers. The girl, like Cody stood rooted to the spot, her breathing heavy and small beads of sweat falling steadily down her face. Her expression was stony and near emotionless, but her eyes betrayed a rush of adrenaline and disquiet. The gun she had used to eliminate the undead was still clenched in her hands, raised to the same point from where she had fired it. As for T.K. and Matt, the older brother knelt next to his younger sibling, cradling him as he lay still, seemingly in a state of unconsciousness. The boy appeared to be unharmed, but his lack of awareness was nonetheless worrying.

Sora looked to Tai, and he nodded towards Matt and T.K.; he would see to them. Sora nodded back and headed straight over to Mimi, leaving Davis where he stood. As the redheaded girl approached her friend she prayed that Mimi's mental state was not as bad as she feared it might be; their group had experienced enough emotional trauma to last a lifetime.

Only when Sora reached Mimi and stood beside her did the younger girl lower the gun. She turned her head slowly to meet Sora's gaze and what the redhead saw surprised her. In Mimi's expression, she saw no fear, guilt or trauma, simply sadness. Sora could not help but sense that Mimi now carried a burden she had not had before, something else that weighed on her mind. Strangely though, the girl seemed to be handling it. Sora decided that she would be best finding out what had happened.

"Mimi, tell me what happened?" Sora asked with some trepidation.

"There's not much to tell Sora." Mimi replied, her voice heavy, evoking a sense of gloom and sorrow, "Those two things found us and… and I shot them."

"What happened to T.K.? Is he alright?" Sora questioned further.

"The second one, the one that made it into the room, fell on him and knocked him to the ground after I… after I shot it. He's just knocked out I think." Mimi told her.

Sora breathed a sigh of relief once more; another potential tragedy had been avoided. What concerned her now though was Mimi. Sora was used to the girl being emotional and excitable. Even in times of stress, conflict or heartbreak, Mimi would always display her emotions with a certain amount of energy, even to the level of being melodramatic. But now she stood calmly, without a trace of her usual emotive theatrics.

"What about you Mimi; are you alright?" Sora asked tentatively.

The girl nodded slowly in response. "It's just, when I learned how to use these things I never thought I'd ever have to use it for real." she admitted sombrely, looking down at the pistol in her hand.

"Yeah." Sora replied simply, but added, "Are you sure you're OK?"

"You don't have to worry Sora, I can handle myself." Mimi answered seriously, but managing to curve her lips ever so slightly upward into a weak, but clear smile.

Sora could only nod in reply. There was no reason she could put her finger on, but she believed Mimi. There was no air of hurt or incurable trauma around her. There was not the same distress and disturbance that was so clear with Davis, Yolei and, not so long ago, Sora herself. While Mimi was not her normal self, she did not seem to be hiding anything. The only conclusion Sora could come to was that Mimi had matured much more than she had previously thought, and had consequently become a much stronger person, so much so that it bewildered the redhead.

In a sense it caught Sora off guard. Her best female friend had never seemed to change all that much. But now, looking back, Sora could notice the changes. She had known that Mimi had calmed down over the years, becoming more reserved and thoughtful. At the same time, though, Mimi had never ceased to be the girly, shopaholic fashionista she had been when they had first met. What had changed was her attitude. Mimi knew when she could be energetic and flamboyant, but more importantly she knew when to be mature and calm.

If Sora was honest, she had always known how much Mimi had matured, she just never consciously gave her credit for it. Even when they had fled the high school, and Mimi had put her sensibility and control on display, Sora had been far too preoccupied to acknowledge it, even if it had shocked her. What this realisation now gave her was a sense of certainty. Mimi was not going to be an issue, she would keep it together.

Mimi set the gun down and shuffled back towards the bench where she collapsed wearily onto it, her eyes drooping with tiredness. Seeing this, Sora switched her attention to T.K., who was still unconscious on the floor. Moving over to him, Sora prayed he was not any worse that he looked.

* * *

><p>Kari looked on timidly as Matt and Tai tended to T.K. Since the convention centre she had not known how to act around him. She had been so sure he was about to reject her before they were interrupted, so much so that she had tried to avoid him as best she could. Besides, if he had no interest in her, why would he even care?<p>

But T.K. had cared, at least that was what his behaviour suggested to her. She had tried so hard to block him out, but she had not been above noticing his little waves and pained looks over the past hours. He had seemed desperate to be with her and talk to her, and this had Kari confused.

She had been so certain the day before about how T.K. felt and what he had been trying to say to her. Now that confidence was wavering. How much did he really know about how she felt, and how right was she about his feelings? The boy had not even have the opportunity to say what he wanted. Maybe rejection was not on his mind. Maybe she had overreacted and judged the situation too hastily. Or maybe, Kari thought, seeing T.K. in danger like that, and witnessing his unconscious form on the floor was just worrying her and clouding her judgement. Whether she liked it or not and regardless of what he felt for her, Kari adored T.K. and there was nothing that would change that.

Gradually, she shuffled closer and closer to where her best friend lay, careful not to draw the attention of Tai and Matt, or of Sora who had just joined them in tending to T.K. She made it to within five metres before she stopped. His face bore a look of discomfort and his jaw was set heavily. Kari felt that she should do something, at least kneel beside him and hold his hand. But something held her back; an uncomfortable weight that seemed to sit at the bottom of her stomach, where it fixed her to the spot where she stood. Part of her mind told her to go over to him, but some other part demanded she move no closer.

For nearly a minute she stayed still, rooted to the spot. Her mind moved at a mile a minute, but came no closer to a conclusion that would tell her what to do. Kari closed her eyes tightly, trying to contain what was a ball of conflicting emotion, brewing inside her and fighting for release; traces of anger, fear, despair, angst and a dozen other sensations and feelings tried to claw their way out. It was then that T.K. reawakened.

The boy's eyelids fluttered and a low groan escaped his lips. Matt, Tai and Sora all looked relieved, watching on calmly as T.K. regain consciousness. Kari, on the other hand could no longer contain herself. Covering the small distance between him and her, she fell to her knees and grabbed his wrist.

"Oh T.K., are you OK, you had me so worried." She choked, holding back tears not borne of sadness, but of wild, raw emotion.

Matt, Tai and Sora all seemed taken aback by her sudden flurry of concern and feeling, but they quickly adapted, seeing Kari revert back to her normal behaviour in relation to T.K.

"Mmm, wazzapening…" T.K. moaned vaguely, appearing to be disoriented.

"T.K.?" Kari squeaked.

"I… you-wha… th- gun… then…" T.K. slurred.

Kari was scared now. Why was he acting like this? She looked to her brother for answers. Tai, however, did not seem worried, although he wore a grimace that suggested something was indeed wrong with T.K.

"What's wrong with him?" Kari asked weakly, desperate to hear what she thought her brother knew.

"Nothing major, I think he just has a concussion." Tai answered evenly.

"A concussion? You sure man?" Matt questioned uncertainly.

"Remember when I took a head knock in that game about a year back? Same thing." Tai explained.

Matt nodded, apparently remembering the incident Tai was referring to. Kari too thought back, recalling what had happened. After being knocked to the ground during a match, Tai had been confused, was not able to speak properly for about half an hour and had been unsteady on his feet for a few days following. On top of that, he had suffered on and off from headaches for a few months following the incident. The symptoms seemed to match the state T.K. was in now, more or less.

Kari had mixed feelings. On the one hand, she was relieved that T.K.'s injury was not as serious as she had first feared. More pressingly, however, she was worried about how he would cope, considering the danger they were in. And, all things aside, she cared about his wellbeing, no matter what the situation. T.K. did not often get sick or injured, and it pained Kari to see harm come to him.

"So what should we do? Just lie him down and let him rest?" Matt asked.

"I'm not sure we can do that." Tai said seriously.

"What? Why not?" Matt replied.

"Because I'm willing to bet that Daemon knows exactly where we are now, and we won't be safe from his monsters for long, so we need to get moving real soon" Tai told him grimly.

Kari was caught off guard. They had only just found this place the night before and now they had to leave already. The constant movement and uncertainty was starting to get to her. It may have only been a few days, but in that time all of them had gone through more emotional upheaval than they had in years, probably even more than they had experienced during their adventures in the Digital World. Death, fear, not knowing if her parents were alive, her problems with T.K., everything had just compounded and placed a weight on Kari's mind that left her paralysed. She could no longer think straight. Everything kept piling up and now the mental fatigue was starting to get the better of her. And it was only going to get worse.

* * *

><p>The growls, moans and cries of the undead reverberated across the darkened sky, chilling all who heard them to the bone. Night had fallen on Odaiba, and only the brave, the desperate or the foolish would think to go out into the infested streets. As they dashed to the cover of a convenience store, choosing to temporarily hide out in the store room, Izzy wondered which category he, Joe and Ken fell into. They had left the relative safety of the hotel where their families still took refuge in search of the other Digidestined. They had been on the move for no more than an hour or two and already Izzy was becoming pessimistic. How could they hope to find their friends in an area the size of Odaiba? The genius had no doubt that they had a duty to look for them, but whether or not they would actually be successful was another matter entirely.<p>

"OK Izzy, this is getting us nowhere. Tell me you have a plan that doesn't involve us just blindly checking every second building and hoping we get lucky." Joe queried despondently.

"Actually I was hoping you might have some suggestions." Izzy admitted, sighing in frustration.

"Seriously?" Joe said, surprised, "Well, normally if I were looking for someone I'd check their familiar hangout… but I guess they probably wouldn't be picking their shelters based on nostalgia."

Izzy shook his head. He was starting to acknowledge the fact that they probably should have planned their search a little more thoroughly before they set out. The three of them had been so fixated on not getting caught while leaving and making sure they had supplies that they had not stopped to think about what they were actually going to do. Izzy laughed bitterly to himself; acting so rashly was such a Tai or Davis thing to do, and now he found himself having made the same mistake. Clearly they had rubbed off on him after all these years.

"Izzy, can't we just track them via their Digivices using your laptop?" Ken pointed out, seemingly convinced he had found the solution.

Izzy frowned and shook his head. "I had thought of that, but the thing is none of the others had their Digivices." he said.

"What? Why not? I have mine." Joe insisted, producing his old Digivice from his trouser pocket.

"I know that Joe, but you were at home and probably grabbed it off your desk. We were all at school and we have all more or less stopped taking them unless we needed to have them on hand for something." Izzy explained negatively.

"Well could you at least check? Just in case one of them had it with them." Ken requested a little desperately.

Izzy just sighed and shrugged his shoulders. He knew there was very little chance it would help. All they were going to see were nine flashing dots, each symbolising a Digivice and all in the homes of their respective owners. Still, he had nothing to lose by looking.

Reluctantly, Izzy pulled his laptop from the backpack he was wearing, which apart from an adapter cable was filled with food and a first aid kit. Gently setting the yellow pineapple notebook on a stray cardboard box, Izzy flipped it open and powered it up. Wasting no time, Izzy entered the tracking program Gennai had installed years ago while Joe and Ken looked on. Scrolling across the map of Odaiba, he fully expected to simply see red dots over all of their homes, signifying the locations of the various Digivices. As Izzy panned over their current position, he saw the dot that was Joe's Digivice, as he had expected. However, Izzy did not expect one of the dots to be out of place.

At first he thought he was seeing things, but Ken quickly confirmed he could see it as well.

"Hey that's one there isn't it?" Ken said, pointing at the laptop screen.

"Y-yeah… But whose Digivice is that? I didn't think-" Izzy mumbled.

"I think the better question is where that is." Joe offered.

Looking at the dot, Izzy could see that it was fairly close to them, not more than a kilometre or two. Moving his cursor over it, Izzy brought up the details on the Digivice.

"Sora's Digivice? But I know she left it at home and I went back with her Matt and Tai and she didn't retrieve it." Izzy mused, unsure what to make of it.

"Wait, Sora was with her mother, right? Maybe she has it." Ken pointed out.

"Whatever the reason, that spot is pretty close to us on the map. I think it's the police station or something." Joe stated.

"Well then let's go. The sooner we find them the sooner we can get back to safety." Ken said hurriedly, eager to be reunited with his friends.

Izzy nodded and powered down his laptop before slipping it back into his backpack. He was surprised at what seemed to be a stroke of good fortune. The events of the past days had been so grim that he had thought that, for once, the Digidestined had run out of luck. But now it seemed that, just maybe, things might start to go their way. Joe's next words would dash that hope.

"Um, guys… I don't think we're gonna be the only ones headed in that direction." He said slowly with a deep sense of foreboding.

Peering out the front window of the store, Izzy recoiled at what he saw. Dozens of undead were limping slowly in the direction of the police station, a blood curdling chorus of moans and growls emanating from them, seemingly heralding the end of all life and the carnage they would wreak. Izzy gulped.

"What's the bet they're heading to the same place we are?" Ken said grimly.

Izzy could not believe it. They were so close. They could not possibly be denied the chance to rescue the others. Not now; not when so much had been taken from them and after so many lives had been lost before their time.

"If we're going to make it to the others before those abominations do, we need to start moving now." Izzy declared urgently.

"Agreed. We can use the side entrance into the alley to keep out of their way." Joe said, pointing towards the door in the back corner of the store.

As they moved swiftly into the alleyway, Izzy knew that their time was running short. He had no way of knowing, but he was sure that somehow Daemon had figured out where the others were, and now he was directing his army of undead minions to hunt them down. The three teenagers had to be fast if they wanted to reach their friends before the infected did. Izzy just prayed they would make it in time. They had already lost far too much; there was no way he could stand another death.

* * *

><p>Matt grunted as he and Kari helped T.K. into a seated position on one of the locker room benches. But, no sooner had he relinquished his support, his little brother groaned and fell onto his side. T.K. clearly had not yet regained his balance and Matt was sure that problem was not about to fix itself any time soon. To make matters worse, he was certain his little brother was still a little unsure as to where he was. According to Tai, confusion, slurring words and similar symptoms were to be expected. Matt just hoped that it would not take the days and, possibly, weeks that had been predicted for recovery.<p>

Matt cringed as he thought of what they had to do. He was in no way looking forward to leaving their hideout in the police station. T.K. had only just sustained a concussion and was in no position to move about on his own. The boy was so dizzy and confused he could not even manage to sit upright, let alone walk and run on his own. But they had little choice. As much as he hated the conclusion, Matt knew that Tai was right in thinking that Daemon probably knew where they were.

As he looked around, Matt could see that they were in trouble. Not only was T.K. concussed and in need of assistance just to stay on his feet, but Yolei and Davis posed problems of their own. The purple haired girl was standing for the first time since they had arrived; not even when the two undead had stormed in had she risen to her feet. Although there was nothing physically wrong with her, she looked unsteady and weak and Matt was unsure about how much they could expect of her.

Davis was a different story. The spiky haired boy was tensed up. Every muscle in his body seemed to be contracting, which in a way symbolised the anger and frustration that he was bottling up. Matt remembered how Davis had exploded after being pushed by Tai and those feelings had since only barely faded. But the bulk of the boy's rage seemed to be coming from elsewhere. Matt could not put his finger on it, but something told him that Tai, or any of them for that matter, were not why Davis was really angry. While he was sure that Davis would be more than capable of keeping up with them, Matt's main concern was what all that pent up emotion might cause.

Shaking his head, Matt moved over to where Tai was speaking with Cody, leaving Kari to tend to T.K. He could see that the younger Digidestined was holding the metal pipe he had earlier substituted for a Kendo stick and Tai was pointing to it as he spoke. The Digidestined leader himself, Matt observed, had found a police riot baton and had it tucked into his belt. As Matt came closer he managed to catch what Tai was saying to Cody.

"Just remember that, and don't hesitate to use it if you have to." Tai said seriously, receiving a curt nod from Cody.

"Don't hesitate to use what?" Matt asked with a strange mix of curiosity and dread.

"Oh Matt, you're gonna need something as well." Tai replied, failing to directly answer Matt's question.

"What am I gonna need; you still haven't answered my question." Matt retorted, now completely lost.

"Something to use as a weapon." Tai responded briskly.

"A weapon? You don't think we really need to-" Matt started to say, but Tai jumped in.

"C'mon Matt, we can't just keep running anymore. I mean look at what just happened; the only reason any one of you are still alive is because Mimi had the pistol." Tai pointed out.

Matt hung his head. He had long accepted the need to fight back, if only to defend themselves. The one thing that bothered him, though, was that, for the first time, they would be fighting and destroying enemies from the real world. Before, it had just been monsters exploding into millions of minute pieces of data only to be reborn later at Primary Village. Now, as he had just witnessed and had been witnessing for the past few days, there would be blood, and he would be responsible for it. Matt was not squeamish or afraid, he had just hoped to avoid taking part in the violence for as long as possible. Now that they were backed into a corner, though, it seemed like the time had come.

Looking around, Matt searched for something that he could fight off Daemon's horde with. He quickly spotted a broom propped in the corner of the room. Matt could think of much better things to use to defend himself with, but after a quick search of the rest of the room he failed to find anything more effective.

Picking it up by its wooden handle, Matt eyed the head of the broom. Deciding it would be more useful without it, Matt snapped the broom head off over his knee and discarded it. Turning back to the group, Matt could see that everyone was now ready to leave, having all collected what they needed in terms of supplies and weapons.

"So are we ready to go?" Matt asked them all, his voice steady and strong in contrast to his inner feelings of fear and uncertainty.

They all nodded solemnly and Tai proceeded to the door, baton in hand.

"Let's do this." he said.

* * *

><p>Izzy stared across the road at the front doors of the police station. He, Joe and Ken had beaten Daemon's thralls and had taken cover in the park on the other side of the street, a distance of some thirty metres between them and the building. However, there were a couple of undead milling about outside the station, seemingly waiting for the rest of the horde to arrive, and Izzy was certain that the mob they had seen earlier were not far behind, giving the three Digidestined maybe three or four minutes before they reached the area.<p>

"You sure this is the place?" Joe asked hurriedly.

"Positive, it corresponds exactly to the map on my laptop." Izzy replied confidently, but sharing Joe's sense of urgency.

At that, they got up to move, but before they could take their first step the front doors to the police station opened slowly and, to their surprise, Tai's head poked around the side. Izzy, Joe and Ken looked on as Tai, followed by Matt, burst out and each struck one of the undead over the head with the makeshift weapons they had found.

Izzy was shocked. He continued to observe the scene in front of him as the two undead twitched about on the ground. At first Matt and Tai stood still, as though they were not sure of what they should do. Even from a distance, Izzy could see the apprehension in their faces. The two infected were still active and it would likely not be long until they would rise again and attack. The young genius could tell that Tai and Matt were apprehending finishing what they had started. Nevertheless, their hesitation lasted only a few seconds and each dealt a killing blow to their target, causing the sickening crunch of two skulls being shattered to fill the air.

As Tai beckoned Matt and the others, who had all just emerged from the doors, Izzy motioned to Joe and Ken that it was time for them to reveal themselves and rejoin their friends. His eagerness was strengthened by urgency as Tai started leading his group in the direction Izzy and his two companions had just come from, the same direction Daemon's horde was coming from.

"Tai stop! Don't go that way!" Izzy yelled as he dashed out from the park and over to the others.

Tai and his group all spun around in shock, unprepared to hear Izzy's voice.

"Izzy!" they all exclaimed in disbelief, but also with an unmistakeable sense of joy and relief.

Izzy went to repeat his warning, but Sora, who was supporting a weary looking Yolei and sporting what looked like a fire axe, spoke up before him.

"Izzy, we've been worried sick about you. It's so good to see you're alright." she said, oblivious to what he had just said and as Joe and Ken ran over to them the group all happily welcomed them.

"Man, how did you three-" Matt began, but Izzy could no longer contain himself.

"Guys, we can talk later but right now we need to move." Izzy insisted hurriedly.

"Yeah, good point, let's go." Tai said and turned to head in the direction they had been about to move in.

"No!" Izzy, Joe and Ken all exclaimed simultaneously.

"What? Why?" Tai asked, bewildered.

"Because there's about fifty of those things coming from that direction and I'm fairly certain they know where you are." Izzy explained hastily, eyeing the end of the street nervously.

Tai and the others all paled at his words. Izzy was unsure about whether they had expected what he had just told them, but what he did know was that it had not been welcome news. After a moment, however, Tai recovered and spoke up.

"Alright, c'mon then." he said simply, clearly not wanting to waste more time.

But, before anyone had moved, Yolei let out a scream of pure terror, causing everyone's hearts to stop beating momentarily. With great fear and apprehension they all looked back in the direction they had been about to head in. While they had been talking, the first of the undead had rounded the corner, finally laying their eyes on the Digidestined after having hunted them for so long. Upon first seeing their prey they had begun to limp faster toward them. Now that their prospective victims had seen them, however, they had began to move even faster, some breaking into a run. At that point, only one word came to Izzy's mind.

"Run!" the young genius yelled.

The others did not need to be told twice and they started running. Izzy saw that, not wanting to be slowed down, Ken had taken it upon himself to carry Yolei on his back, and Joe had done the same with T.K. But as he looked back, Izzy could see that Tai, Matt, Sora, Cody and Mimi were hanging at the back of the group deliberately and he had no idea why.

"What are you guys doing?" Izzy shouted incredulously.

"We've got weapons Izzy!" Tai bellowed back, throwing cautious glances over his shoulder.

"Yeah, if they catch up we'll make sure to keep them off you!" Matt added determinedly.

As he said that, one of the infected caught up to them, but received a crushing blow to the skull care of Tai and his baton. The monster sprawled onto the road and hit the tarmac face first, sending a horrific cracking sound into the air. But no one stopped to admire Tai's handiwork as they all continued to flee from Daemon's horde.

Izzy just kept running. He was not what you would call fit, what with being most at home sitting in his room on the computer, but the adrenaline coursing through his veins blocked out all the fatigue and breathlessness that would normally start affecting him after just a couple of minutes of running. Even as Mimi fired the pistol back at their pursuers and Tai, Sora, Matt and Cody clobbered and hacked at any who caught up, all he could hear was the thumping of his own heart in his ears.

* * *

><p>Yolei panted heavily as she bumped up and down. She was not the one running, as she was being piggybacked by Ken, but she was nevertheless out of breath. She had no energy left, no will to do anything but stay alive and be as close to her loved ones as possible, and at the moment those people were the Digidestined.<p>

The only thing greater than her utter exhaustion was her abject horror at the monstrous horde chasing them, and although she was sick of acting like she was weak, Yolei could not stop the heavy, fearful tears from streaming down her face and onto the back of Ken's neck.

Yolei shut her eyes tight, too fearful to see what was happening around her. She could hear the gunfire and violent striking of undead flesh behind her, but she did not dare look, not with all the blood and gore she was likely to see. If Yolei was to see any of that, she was sure that she would not be able to control herself any longer. It was hard enough for Ken to carry her and run at top speed as it was; there was no way he could continue to hold her up if she entered into hysterics. She was already a burden enough; she would not allow herself to get anyone, even herself, killed, not after so much had been lost and not after they had survived for so long.

With these thoughts dominated her mind, Yolei failed to hear the faint whirring sound that had gradually begun to enter the sky. It was faint at first, barely audible over the crack of gunfire and the smashing of skulls. But slowly, like a rising tide, it filled the air around them. Izzy was first to notice.

"Hey… what's that sound you guys!" Izzy yelled between pants.

"I dunno, but I hope it's friendly." Matt shouted in reply, his words soon followed by a grunt and hard thump as he hit another of Daemon's undead across the face.

At this, Yolei opened her eyes again. She could hear it too now. Rising now out of her fear was curiosity and, against all odds, a ray of hope. The sound was now becoming more familiar, something she had heard many times before. She soon had confirmation of her hunch.

"Look! Up above us!" Sora exclaimed, pointing skyward.

Yolei lifted her face and was met by an amazing sight. A small fleet of helicopters, perhaps ten or more, was flying high above them, and off in the distance more could be seen. Where they were from was impossible to tell in the darkness, as all that could be seen were their darkened silhouettes and small blinking lights, but there was no doubt that they were friendly; undead monsters did not fly helicopters.

"Where are they going!" Mimi yelled as she emptied her last round and threw the gun back at their pursuers, hitting one hard in the head and causing it to stumble.

"No clue, but we need to get to wherever they're headed!" Tai hollered.

Darting left down a side street, they all gave chase to the helicopter squadron, hoping to make it to where they were landing, or at least they all hoped they would be landing. While Ken had been slowing down before sighting the choppers, he had sped back up to his top pace. Yolei could scarcely believe it, but now, maybe, she finally had a reason to hope that they would really all make it out alive. For the first time since fleeing the convention centre, there was a chance that they would all be rescued from this nightmare; their potential salvation had arrived. Now they just had to get to it.

* * *

><p>Agumon sat restlessly with Biyomon and Gabumon, while the other Digimon milled about, having nothing to do but wait. The orange dinosaur felt like he had been awake for days on end, but in truth he had only awoken from a nap a little over an hour ago. But even when he slept, nothing could quiet his mind, nothing could draw his thoughts from his partner or from the other Digidestined.<p>

Gabumon had clearly sensed his friend's discomfort, as he spoke up to comfort him and placing a fur coated hand on his shoulder.

"C'mon Agumon, you need to relax. You can't digivolve to Wargreymon when you're all wound up like that." he soothed in his soft, breathy voice.

"Yeah Agumon." Biyomon joined in empathetically, "You can't fight Daemon when all stressed out."

Agumon knew what they were trying to do, and he appreciated the fact that they cared. But at the same time there was nothing he could do about how he was feeling. All he wanted to do was act. He was sick of waiting while Tai and the others were in danger.

"Thanks you two, but this is my responsibility and I just don't want to wait any longer." Agumon told them matter-of-factly.

"Well that no longer needs to be a concern Agumon."

The three Digimon turned around in surprise to see that Gennai had snuck up behind them. He had a grim smile on his face that told them all that the time had come, and his next words confirmed that feeling.

"Prepare yourselves, the portal is now ready for you to pass into the Dark Ocean and do battle with our foe."


	12. Chapter 12: Catch Me If You Can

**Hey again, chapter 12 is here. Sorry it's taken me a while longer to do it but uni was pretty intense for a couple of months and I had to drop a lot of my leisure time. Now that it and my exams are done for a few weeks I can try and get out the last few chapters to this story. Thanks to everyone for their patience and their reviews.**

**Aizawa Li Syaoran Vessalius: I thought that, out of all of them, Mimi's character is the one you can play around with the most if you add some age to her (I think). Thanks and hope this chapter is to your liking.**

**Angelfish369: Thanks, hopefully I can maintain your interest :)**

**Vigatus: Fair enough. Thanks again for reviewing and I guess if I don't finish this until 2020 then I can start feeling bad :P**

**Mimato love 4ever: I'll try my best to be a bit more frequent these next few weeks and I'm glad you enjoyed my characterisation of Mimi.**

**Kyara Salvatore: It's always good to hear from new reviewers – glad you've liked it so far :)**

**Also thanks to Gin no Okami, TheLastNanaya, DrakeXIV, Kyara Salvatore and Neon765 for the favourite/sub And now to the chapter – hope you enjoy.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Digimon or any of the characters, they are the property of Toei Animation.**

A stunning flash of greyish white light, the sound of swiftly rushing air and the overwhelming sensation of being sucked through a watery tunnel. All of these hit Agumon at once as he and the other eleven Digimon passed through Gennai's portal to the Dark Ocean.

The feeling was not unlike passing through the gate to the human world, but the small orange dinosaur could feel a distinct difference between the two experiences. The inter-dimensional journey was colder, darker and more nauseating than those he had taken between Earth and the Digital World. There was an undeniable sense of despair and fear, a raw and near overwhelming rush of pure negative energy that threw Agumon off balance. It was not something he enjoyed.

It was all over in the blink of an eye, however, as the grey, dead landscape of the Dark Ocean materialised before them, and the Digimon landed softly on the sands of what must have been the darkest most depressing beach in existence, in any dimension. The sands were free of any colour that might have given them a sense of life, the waters were a sickly grey, like they had been contaminated by some unknown force of industry and pollution, and everything was covered in a thick blanket of fog that obscured everything that lay more than thirty or forty metres away. Taking in their surroundings, the twelve digital monsters experienced, some not for the first time, the terrible knowledge that they now stood in what was effectively the home of evil.

Finally, having gotten his bearings as best he could considering the fog, Agumon turned to address the team.

"This is it everyone, let's find Daemon and put an end to this."

* * *

><p>"C'mon! C'mon! We can make it!" Tai yelled desperately as the Digidestined and Sora' mother made their final dash.<p>

They had all followed the path of the helicopters as fast as their legs would carry them and with a depleted, but still sizeable pack of undead pursuers hot on their heels. What they had found after ten minutes of continuous running was that their chase had led them to one of Odaiba's parks, where they hoped to find safety and, if they were lucky, a way out of the hell they had been living in for the past several days.

Now all that was left between them and their prayed for salvation was two hundred and fifty short metres of open road, and at the end lay a haven of light and noise that could only mean transport and protection. However, their sustained sprinting had left many of the less athletic members of the group out of breath, which was causing them to begin to slow down. And with each passing second their quarry gained valuable metres on them.

"Faster guys! We can't stop now!" Tai exclaimed as he saw Joe and Ken, as well as T.K. and Yolei whom the carried, begin to lag behind.

Completely out of breath, the two young men nevertheless spurred themselves on, having come too far and gotten so close to let themselves or their dependents be killed now. Running on nothing but fear and the will to continue on living, the Digidestined somehow all managed to speed up, increasing the distance between themselves and the monsters chasing them.

With only some sixty or seventy metres to go, Tai and the others felt a fleeting moment of triumph. They had widened the gap between themselves and their pursuers and there was no way that the undead would be able to make up the extra ground that the Digidestined had made with their last minute, adrenaline fuelled rush. Their momentary euphoria was cut short by a cruel and terrifying sight.

Half a dozen more undead rushed out of an alleyway not far ahead and headed straight for the Digidestined. Matt, the first to see them, yelled out in frustration.

"Ah, no way!" he bellowed disbelievingly.

"Son of a bitch!" Tai screamed, not willing to believe that they had been cut off so close to their destination.

As the Digidestined skidded to a halt, they were all overcome by the same sense of anger and hopelessness. They had been cheated. Their survival stolen from them at the last moment. Daemon had obviously sent the smaller group around to head them off, and for once their foe had succeeded. As hard as they could try and fight them off, there was no way the Digidestined could fight off the forty odd monsters that now surrounded them.

In the two or three seconds he had left before they were upon them, Tai steadied himself and readied the baton he held in his right hand. He refused to let himself and those he cared about to be taken without a fight. As clichéd as it was, he refused to go to his death willingly. Glancing momentarily at the others, focusing particularly on Sora and Kari, Tai said his mental goodbyes and readied himself for the end.

But the end had not yet come. Just as the undead reached them there was a flurry of sharp, booming cracks. The sound was deafening, disorienting Tai as he whipped his head around wildly, unconsciously searching for their origin. The sounds were followed by explosions of blood as one by one, the undead fell hard to the ground, sickly red fluid streaming from fresh holes in their heads. The six or so that had rushed out from the alley to cut them off were the first to go, and not a split second passed between their fall and the whizzing of lead over the Digidestined's heads to continue the slaughter of Daemon's minions. Above the loud cracks of gunfire and the rush of bullets passing over them, it was barely possible to hear the almost moist thud of metal hitting and penetrating human flesh, or at least what used to be human flesh. The chorus of gunfire and flying lead soon came to an end, and all thirteen of them, even the concussed T.K., shuddered as the final body hit the ground with a dull thud.

The entire episode, from the moment the half dozen undead had emerged from the alley until the last of the pursuing group fell lasted scarcely more than thirty seconds and when the first soldier reached them, all any one of them could do was stare open mouth back as he spoke to them.

Tai glanced around, but was still too stunned to take much of it in. From what he could now see, the buildings on either side of the street had been garrisoned by teams if soldiers, some snipers still occupying the windows while others had come down onto the street level. As a dozen troops passed them by to set up positions, clad in camouflage army gear and wielding an assortment of rifles, sub-machine guns and shotguns, the first one, an officer, continued to try and communicate with them. He was speaking English it seemed with what sounded like an American accent, and while Tai did have a basic grasp of the language he was still far too dazed to understand him.

"I said are you kids alright? We had to fire pretty close to you all to take those bastards down." he asked, a feeling of concern just barely evident behind his stony, hardened expression.

Izzy stepped in. Still out of breath he still managed to answer.

"No, we-we're fine… Th-thanks." he said simply in English before falling to his knees in exhaustion.

"Well don't rest up now kid, this ain't over yet." the officer replied, his tone gravely and unsympathetic as he lifted his gaze from the Digidestined to the darkened street from which they had come.

Tai looked at the man in disbelief. They had hidden for days from these abominations, run for their lives on so many occasions, nearly been caught mere seconds ago and only being saved by a hail of bullets that could quite easily have hit them. How could this not be over yet?

* * *

><p>"Are you sure Gatomon?" Biyomon questioned with a slight sense of unease.<p>

"I'm positive, Daemon has to be up there." the white cat replied with the stern conviction she had developed over her years of slavery under Myotismon.

"But why of all places would he be up on the cliff?" Gabumon asked pensively, more to himself than to Gatomon.

"That's where the old lighthouse used to be." Patamon chimed in as memories of his last visit to the Dark Ocean ran through his mind.

"So?" Palmon retorted.

"So… So he could do that…" Gatomon whispered as they emerged from the fog into a clear stretch of the beach where the cliff could be seen clearly.

From where they now stood, they could see the beach curve slightly towards the sea, following the cliff wall until it met the ocean. The ocean was deathly still, but the jagged rocks at the base of the cliff were as menacing as if twenty foot waves were crashing down upon them. What drew their attention, though, sat at the highest point of the precipice.

Atop the slope, where the lighthouse that beamed a guiding light of darkest black and once concealed a control spire used to stand, was a sight that held the Digimon in awe. A large, pulsing, swirling fog sat at the very edge of the cliff, only instead of the lifeless grey that dominated the realm, this fog was a dark purple in colour with an ominous black hue at the centre. It was the only hint of colour in this lifeless dimension, but somehow it managed to display a feeling of evil far more powerful than the greys, blacks and whites that normally made up the Dark Ocean. Most disturbing of all were the shots of crimson electricity and fire that swirled around the misty purple mass, signalling a dark power that six of the Digimon had never before encounter and that the remaining six had been unable to defeat four years prior.

"That's not supposed to be there, is it?" Veemon queried, not taking his eyes off the mass of throbbing darkness.

Patamon and Gatomon, the only two to have visited the Dark Ocean's beach area, both shook their heads and continued to stare wide eyed at cliff.

"Y'know, all of a sudden I don't wanna be here anymore. Where's the portal?" Gomamon managed to get out before choking on the last word, the unease clear in his voice.

"Gomomon, this is no time for jokes." Gabumon chided him, but sharing his nervousness.

"Heh heh, who's joking?" Gomamon asked rhetorically, his tone now clearly displaying a deep fear.

They all looked at him, knowing both that they had come too far to back out now and that they were experiencing the same trepidation Gomamon was. The booming announcement that followed did little to assuage their worries.

A deep, hacking laughter pierced the air, reverberating through the skies and chilling the Digimon to the bone.

"You have come so far to save them…" a raspy, yet at the same time refined voice echoed, "But, unfortunately for you, your efforts are all for naught."

"Daemon!" Wormmon and Veemon exclaimed simultaneously, remembering the menacing tone of the one enemy they had never been able to best.

"Where are you!" Agumon demanded, not wanting to drag their nightmare out any longer.

"Open your eyes, little Digimon – I'm right here." the demonic sorcerer proclaimed.

The pulsing mass of purple and black mist on the cliff quickly dissipated and, simultaneously Daemon materialised before them. His appearance caught the six who had faced him before by surprise, and the others were simply appalled by what they saw. Daemon was, quite literally, half the Digimon he used to be. His entire left arm had disintegrated, chunks were missing from his cloak and from his legs, horns and torso. Even one of his eerie, grey-blue eyes was no more, with only one remaining in the black void that lay under his hood. Last and most disturbing was the slow, almost unnoticeable stream of data leaking from the areas of disintegration on his body. Their foe was practically disappearing before them, albeit very slowly.

Being creatures of data themselves, the Digimon were repulsed. It was their equivalent of a human watching someone slowly bleed to death in front of them. Not one of them said a word, but they all shared the hope that whatever was doing this to Daemon was not contagious. The thought of slowly breaking up and disappearing was almost too much for them to bear.

"Urgh! What in the Digital World is happening to you?" Palmon exclaimed, her eyes wide in disbelief.

"Does my appearance cause you displeasure?" Daemon asked darkly, clearly patronising them, "Well my imprisonment in this empty dimension was hardly my fault."

The Digimon all winced at this. Daemon clearly had vengeance on his agenda, and the Digidestined were not his only targets.

"You know, I would have been content in knowing I had destroyed your loathsome partners, but now I see that I have an opportunity to fully realise my revenge and destroy their digital pets along with them." Daemon mused openly, not at all seeking to hide the lust for violence that seemed to be coursing through him.

"Not a chance!" Agumon yelled.

The small dinosaur then began to glow, emitting a white-gold light from his body as he began his warp digivolution as the dormant digital core he had been given years ago once again awakened to grant him the power of the mega level.

"Agumon, warp digivolve to-"

The light exploded outward, blinding all of them and eliciting an angry cry from Daemon.

"What! Impossible! How is he able to do this on his own!" their foe screamed in disbelief.

"Wargreymon!"

The loud growl of the mega level silenced the angry calls of the dark sorcerer. As the light faded, Wargreymon stepped forward in all his glory. Had they not been in the Dark Ocean, his armour would have shined with a staggering brilliance that even the most hateful of enemies would have to admire and respect. As the dragon warrior planted his feet in the sand, he swung his arms out to his sides. As he did this, the claws of his dramon destroyers extended, and he brandished them menacingly in Daemon's direction.

"You were saying something about destroying us?" Wargreymon quipped, unable to suppress a light chuckle at how quickly the tables had turned against their foe.

Daemon was silent. He merely stood and observed his new enemy with his one remaining eye.

"Cat got your tongue?" Hawkmon cracked, receiving a sideways look from Gatomon.

"That's my line." she said, but herself unable to stop a brief fit of the giggles.

"Quite funny." Daemon retorted unexpectedly, causing the rookies and Gatomon to flinch, "Though I admit the circumstances have certainly changed in your favour."

"Finally, an enemy that knows when he's beaten." Armadillomon remarked lazily, "Can we finish him and go home now, I'm hungry."

"Geez, you're worse than Agumon." Biyomon joked.

"Hey, I'm right here!" Wargreymon protested.

"Enough!" Daemon yelled with a sudden surge of anger, "Do you insolent creatures truly believe you have won?"

"Yes actually. All we need to do is destroy you and your virus won't exist anymore – and you just admitted that we have the clear advantage." Wargreymon replied defiantly.

Daemon simply laughed at his words.

"You are correct; in my state I cannot defeat you, Wargreymon. But that doesn't mean I can't settle for the other eleven of you, as well as your filthy human partners." he said threateningly and, strangely, with a hint of excitement.

"And what makes you think I won't destroy you first?" Wargreymon challenged warily, narrowing his eyes at their enemy.

"Ha ha ha. You'll have to catch me first." Daemon replied simply, his one remaining eye twinkling with a dark enthusiasm.

With those words, Daemon faded and disappeared before their very eyes. All twelve of the Digimon scanned the area in a panic, but could find no trace of him. Before they could ask each other what had happened, though, Daemon's maniacal laughter began echoing across the beach, seemingly coming from all around them. Wargreymon grunted in frustration before addressing his companions.

"Stay on your guard everyone; this just got a whole lot more complicated."

* * *

><p>The wretched cries of the undead still filled the air, but they were now accompanied by gunshots and the whirring of helicopter blades. The Digidestined and Toshiko Takenouchi all huddled together by a pair of benches, still recovering from the chase that had led them from the police station where most of them had been hiding, all the way to a park, or more specifically the park where Tai had landed in when he and Koromon were transported to Earth after defeating Etemon.<p>

All twelve of them had been there at some point in the childhood, and despite what they had gone through, the sight of the grass and sand they had played in as kids was oddly comforting. Toshiko may have also found solace in the place where she used to take her daughter to play as a child, but the middle aged woman had run faster and further than she had in years and she was now sleeping on one of the benches, completely worn out from the physical exertion. Most of the Digidestined were content just to sit and perhaps talk a little. Cody, however, was far more interested in their saviours.

The boy observed the few soldiers who were not deployed around the perimeter. They wore camouflage combat gear and most were equipped with what looked to be night vision goggles among other pieces of military hardware. Provisions had been made for lighting via some portable generators, about the size and shape of a large car battery, as well as small amounts of food and water for any survivors who managed to stumble into the park, although apart from the Digidestined there were barely one hundred at the current time. Most were children or teenagers, likely having survived due to the sacrifices of their parents and others. Luckily for them, however, the helicopters were beginning to airlift people out of the city, to where nobody knew but it would surely be to a place of safety. Still, Cody knew, when the crisis was finally over, there would be a lot of orphans with few places to go.

Taking his mind off the losses of others, Cody focused again on the soldiers. It was only when the soldiers had come into the light of one of the generator lights that one could see where these troops were from. As the light shone on their combat uniforms, one could clearly see a patch of the American flag, Why American soldiers were in Odaiba was beyond Cody and he was particularly curious. The boy stood up and began to approach what appeared to be two officers who were bent over what looked to be a map of the city, speaking at a volume too low for him to understand their words.

Before Cody got halfway, he felt a tap on his shoulder and he turned around to see Joe right behind him.

"Where are you going Cody?" the blue haired teenager asked.

"Ahh, I guess I'm kinda curious as to what American soldiers are doing here in Odaiba." Cody answered.

"Oh, OK." Joe replied simply, but then added, "Well I guess we can kill two birds with one stone because I was going to tell them where to find our families."

"Oh yeah... umm, I never asked before, but do how my mother and grandfather are? How were they at least when you last saw them?" the boy questioned anxiously while also hanging his head a little, ashamed of himself that he had forgotten to ask about the wellbeing of his family.

"Oh they're fine. I mean I thought your grandfather's eyes were going to pop out of his head after all the running we did getting to the hotel we were hiding in, but I think all those year of Kendo kept him pretty fit." Joe told him with a sympathetic smile, "And don't feel bad about forgetting to ask about them, you've had enough to worry about since we met up and I'm sure they would understand."

"Wait, how do you-" Cody tried to ask, but Joe answered before he could finish.

"Well Cody, considering you always drop everything but the biggest emergencies to attend your Kendo practice with your grandfather, it's pretty obvious how highly you regard your family. And seeing as you just did the old 'hang your head in shame' you always do, it wasn't hard to tell what you were thinking." Joe said, patting the younger boy on the shoulder.

"Thanks Joe." Cody said softly, feeling a little better after hearing Joe's reassurances.

Without wasting any more time, the two covered the small remaining distance between themselves and the two officers, who were still in their rather involved discussion.

"Leave this to me Cody, you're English isn't that good yet." Joe told Cody quickly before they bothered the two men.

Cody just nodded in reply, knowing full well that his English was rather undeveloped, not yet having the fluency of the high schoolers and university students.

"Umm, excuse me sir?" Joe managed to say, unsure as to how to approach them given he was unfamiliar with American colloquialisms, slang and such.

One of the officers turned around and gave Joe a strained look. The man looked to be under a great deal of stress, but he managed to reply in a somewhat civil manner.

"Sorry kid, but you'll have to make this quick. We've got whatever the hell these things are closing in from all sides and I don't have enough men in here to plug all the gaps." he said gruffly in a very thick southern accent.

"Sir what's happening and why are you Americans here? Where's our army?" Joe plied him, trying to get his questions in before he was shooed away.

"Look Son, I don't have the time to deal with this." the man said, but upon seeing Joe's expression of disappointment he sighed and turned to his right, shouting, "Lieutenant Stevens, come over here and answer these kids questions and get them off my back, would ya!"

Cody and Joe both swivelled to see the person being shouted to. The Lieutenant turned out to be a young blond woman and, after giving her superior a curt nod, she led the two boys a few metres away, closer to their group.

"OK, make it snappy you two, I need to be able to move at a moment's notice." she told them hurriedly.

Joe repeated his question and Lieutenant Stevens nodded while closing her eyes for a brief second before answering.

"We're here because your government made an emergency plea at the United Nations a few hours ago." she told them rather stoically.

"But why, and how did you get here so fast?" Joe questioned further.

"Look I don't know why your government made their decision, but my best guess is that they were out of options. And as for how we got here, this unit is of Marines from the USS John F. Kennedy. We were stationed in the Philippine Sea when the call came out and we were close enough to get here in just a few hours." she answered quickly, clearly disinterested in talking the two Digidestined and answer mostly out of obligation to her superiors, "We had some troops on Okinawa as well and they're being deployed to other areas – mostly major cities."

Cody had had not understood everything she had said, but he had managed to get the gist of it. His ears pricked up when she mentioned the US Marines, which he had heard a lot about.

"You are a Marine?" Cody said mechanically, pronouncing each word carefully as he did not want to embarrass himself.

"Well, not really – I'm a navy medic but… Well close enough." Lieutenant Stevens told him, a little surprised that the boy who had been silent up to that point had spoken.

"Umm, yeah there's one more thing. We know where there's a lot more survivors. You see they're hiding out in a hotel-" Joe said, but was cut off close to the end.

"Can you show us on a map?" Stevens interjected, suddenly more interested in what he had to say.

"Yeah, I think so." Joe replied quickly.

"Great. Come with me over here to the Major and we'll see what we can do." the Lieutenant offered, ushering Joe back over to the two officers.

"I'll see you back over with the others Cody." Joe said, switching briefly back to Japanese, as Stevens practically dragged him away by the arm.

Cody just nodded and waved his hand once before heading back over to the others.

If the Japanese government had called for international aid, Cody thought, the situation throughout the rest of the country must be as bad as it was in Odaiba. The young boy just wished that the Digimon would hurry up and put an end to the nightmare. But, for the moment at least, they were safe.

* * *

><p>The air was still but the fog had thickened, obscuring everything further than a few feet away. As some were panicking and others were swivelling their heads in paranoia, Wargreymon stood still, an unmoving and resolute force amongst the hysteria. The mega level stayed silent with his eyes closed, trying as best he could to sense where Daemon might appear from. He had said he would destroy the other eleven Digimon, so Wargreymon concluded he was safe to assume their enemy would not flee from combat, or at least not until he had been physically overwhelmed.<p>

The dragon warrior lamented the fact that Gabumon was unable to Digivolve to Metalgarurumon. Had this been possible, Wargreymon could have possibly relied on the metal wolf's sensors to pinpoint Daemon's location, much like they had been used to identify the real and fake swords used by Piedmon all those years ago. For now, he was stuck with only his senses and the eyes and ears of his comrades who, despite their spirit, were in no position to fight Daemon, even with the latter's significantly reduced power.

"I can't see him anywhere!" Gabumon yelled.

"Where did he go?" Biyomon chirped, trying to remain as close to Wargreymon for safety as possible.

"Where are you guys? I can't see you anymore!" Patamon yelped, apparently having lost himself in the growing fog.

"Quiet!" Wargreymon snapped, bringing all of them to silence, "Everyone come to me, follow my voice."

The sounds of hasty movement told Wargreymon that the other Digimon had done as he had told them and he felt their presence around him within seconds. As he opened his eyes and looked around he saw that his eleven friends had formed a tight cluster behind him.

"What do we do?" Wormmon asked fearfully.

Wargreymon took a second to think. While he was not in any real danger himself, the other eleven were all still vulnerable to any attack Daemon might make, made even more dangerous by the fact that they would not see it coming. Just as pressing were the fates of the Digidestined back on Earth. The longer Daemon was alive the greater the chance that their partners would fall victim to Daemon's plague. Wargreymon had to finish their foe quickly, but they needed a way to draw him out. For all they knew, the dark sorcerer could be standing right in front of them or he could be nowhere near them. Either way, the Digimon had no way of knowing unless he chose to reveal himself.

Wargreymon grunted in frustration. He could not think of anything they could do and Daemon had the luxury of time on his side. They had not come so far just to be beaten by an enemy that refused to fight them head on. There had to be something they could do to get him out of hiding.

"Wargreymon? We can't just stand here all day!" Biyomon exclaimed, "Sora, Tai, Matt, Izzy and all the others need us to beat Daemon!"

"But Biyomon," Gabumon interjected, "if we just run around aimlessly we're just going to make ourselves more vulnerable to Daemon. What if one of us got lost in the fog?"

It was with that that Wargreymon formed a plan. It was risky and potentially deadly, but at that point they were low on options and there were no obvious alternatives.

"Everyone, listen up." Wargreymon announced to them.

All talk ceased as the Digimon huddled up to their mega level protector. Wargreymon quickly explained, in a whisper, his plan to lure Daemon out, hoping against hope that their enemy was not close enough to eavesdrop. When he had finished, Wargreymon stood up and looked at the group of rookies and Gatomon before making the request he hoped he would not live to regret.

"Any volunteers?"

* * *

><p>"Thanks son, we'll radio in the coordinates. No promises, but we'll see what we can do for all you kids' families."<p>

Joe nodded politely, thanking the Major in English before turning around to return to his friends. Before he was out of earshot, though, he did catch the resumed conversation between the two officers poring over the map of Odaiba. He stopped walking, making sure he got every word.

"Damn it, Bravo squad hasn't checked in and they're supposed to be watching the southern perimeter."

"Should I radio them sir."

"I don't care what you do, just get me onto Sergeant Ramirez so I can find out what the hell is going on over there – the last thing I want is those freaks biting me in the ass."

"On it sir."

"And get Hunter Squadron back here ASAP, Captain. The quicker we get these civies on those black hawks the better."

"Wilco."

Joe did not like the sound of what he had heard. Some of the slang went over his head, but he had understood the general idea of what had been said. Much of what he had overheard was a little worrying. Nevertheless, Joe was heartened by the mention of 'black hawks', which he remembered were an American class of helicopter. With any luck those same choppers would be returning soon to airlift them out of Odaiba and out of harm's way.

Joe sat next to a dozing Izzy when he reached the group. Many had actually gone to sleep in the short while he had been gone. Looking around he saw Matt slumped up against a tree, his head slouching forward as he slept. Yolei, Ken, Cody and Mimi had also drifted off, all lying on the grass and breathing deeply in their slumber. Two couples caught Joe's eye, however.

T.K. and Kari, unlike most of the others, were both awake, though they were both in great need of some rest. T.K. was lying on a park bench, a balled up jacket as his pillow. The boy still seemed to be rather confused as he was mumbling to himself constantly. Still, he appeared to know that Kari kneeling right by him as he was staring straight up at her and every so often he would say her name.

As for Kari herself, she looked as exhausted as Joe had ever seen her. She was sticking by T.K., even closer than normal. Her eyes were drooping and she was swaying on her knees, an obvious sign of how badly the fatigue was affecting her. Still, she was tending to him as diligently as ever, making sure he was comfortable and listening to his murmurs. Nevertheless, Joe felt that she was going through more than just tiredness. He supposed that, given how T.K. had only been hurt a hour or two ago, the shock was still fresh. Joe concluded it was likely just worry over T.K., coupled with how worn out she must be. Still though, he could not shake the feeling that something else was getting to the girl.

Tai and Sora on the other hand had both fallen asleep up against a tree and were leaning on each other. Sora, being the shorter of the two, had her head resting on Tai's shoulder, while the boy had his head on hers. Joe smiled a little when he saw Sora clasping Tai's left hand with her right as they both slept. Even when they were both asleep they refused to give it a rest, Joe thought, chuckling lightly.

It was then that he noticed Mrs Takenouchi. She was sitting on another park bench a few metres away from Tai and Sora, quite close to Joe actually, and she was observing the couple with something of a whimsical smile. The woman must have only just woken up, Joe thought as she had been sleeping when Joe had gone with Cody to question the soldiers. She had apparently realised she was under Joe's gaze as she began speaking to him without shifting her eyes away from her sleeping daughter and Tai.

"I keep wondering when those two will get their act together." she mused tiredly before stifling a yawn.

"You know too, Mrs Takenouchi?" Joe questioned, not in the least bit surprised but still interested to know when and how she had found out.

"Joe, first of all, I'm her mother and it's my job to know these things, and second, these two are so obvious they could only manage to hide it from each other." she answered with a small laugh.

"Well that's certainly true." Joe agreed, nodding his head and looking back to Tai and Sora's sleeping forms.

However, it was at that point that Joe realised that someone was missing. Not panicking, but nonetheless concerned, he turned and asked Mrs Takenouchi where there wayward member was.

"Um, you didn't happen to see where Davis went by any chance, did you?" Joe said.

"Hmm? Oh, he went for a little walk a minute or two before you got back." Mrs Takenouchi replied before pointing at something over Joe's left shoulder, "Yes there he is, over by the fountain."

Joe followed her outstretched arm and spotted Davis, partially obscured by the water that was strangely still spurting out into the little pool surrounding the central water feature. Joe did not have time to wonder who had let the water keep going, as he thanked Mrs Takenouchi and got up to see what was on Davis' mind. Whatever it was it must have been big if it was keeping the heaviest sleeper among them awake.

* * *

><p>Davis stared solemnly into the cascading water. To him it represented a peace he did not feel, a serenity he could not find. Ever since his father had been killed, he had felt an anger he had barely been able to suppress. The thing was, while at first he had known why he was angry, now the reason was not so clear.<p>

The night before, all he could think about was his hatred for Daemon and his fury at how his father could be taken away from him by some evil digital has-been holding a grudge. That was before Tai had spoken to him. His mentor had tried to get him to talk about what he was going through, but Davis had just pushed him away. But then Tai had said he had expected more from the junior leader, and it seemed to Davis that the older Digidestined was suggesting that he disappointed him.

Davis remembered that his first reaction was to take it out on Tai. How could he suggest that Davis had let him or anyone else down? It was only later when Tai had apologised, though, that the younger teenager had begun to think. Maybe the Digidestined of Courage had not meant it, but that did not mean that he had not let anyone down. The more Davis thought about it, the worse he felt. Tai, T.K. and everyone else had only wanted to help him, to try and ease the pain of loss. All he had done in return was to throw it in their faces and storm off like a child throwing a tantrum.

No matter what he did, Davis could not fight the feeling of shame at how he thought he had acted. He was supposed to be the leader of the younger Digidestined. How could he just storm off like that? He could have gotten himself or the others killed.

Davis clenched his fists and hung his head. He might have been angry at Daemon, at Tai and just about everything else. Right now though, he was only angry at himself.

Through all his thinking, Davis almost failed to hear Joe approach. He turned around, however, as the older Digidestined sneezed.

"Damn allergies." Joe complained as he rubbed his nose with one of his hands.

"Hey Joe." Davis said, failing his frustration.

"Something wrong?" Joe asked.

"I'm-" Davis stopped himself from saying 'fine' as he was sure that it was perfectly clear to Joe that he was not fine.

"You're…?" Joe probed, a quizzical look on his face.

"I'm… I'm just trying to work something out." Davis said evasively, not really wanting to share how he was feeling, at least not yet.

"You wanna tell me what it is? Or would you rather… y'know, keep it to yourself." Joe questioned carefully. He was not aware of Davis' earlier outburst, but he could sense that the young leader was wound up about something and it was best not to push.

Davis just cocked his head to the side and Joe got the message. The older boy turned to head back to the group, but not before the sound of rotor blades began to resonate through the park.

The choppers were returning. Now, hopefully, it was time for the Digidestined to leave and escape from the hell that used to be their home.


	13. Chapter 13: Final Goodbyes

**We're getting close to the end now, so I hope this chapter lives up to expectations. There are only one or two more chapters to go (haven't decided if I want one long one or two split up – probably two) and everything is coming together now. I'm planning to get everything done by this time next month at the earliest or at the end of next month at the latest (unless something comes from out of the blue of course). Before the chapter, just some review responses.**

**Vigatus: Thanks and I was toying with the idea of a really quick end to Daemon to throw a bit of a curve ball, but where's the fun in that? Also, thanks for the sub.**

**nerdxx3: I have to say I was on a bit of an ego trip when I read your review. I don't know if I really deserve all the kind words, but thank you so much all the same. I'm really glad you're enjoying this and I hope I continue to entertain. Thanks for following and favouriting too :)**

**Also thanks to Supercooldude64 and ViviCakes for subbing/following.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Digimon or any of the characters, they are the property of Toei Animation.**

"OK, I'm ready." Gatomon whispered as she began to move away from the other Digimon.

"Are you sure you're up to this Gatomon?" Wargreymon asked worriedly as Kari's partner continued off into the fog.

"I'm a champion level; I have the best chance of surviving his initial attack." she replied, stopping but not turning around.

"You do know there are no guarantees if you are destroyed?" Tentomon questioned further, "There's no way of knowing if you will return to Primary Village – it is likely that your data may become permanently trapped in this dimension."

"… I know. But Wargreymon said it himself; we're running out of time and this is the only option we have right now." Gatomon replied softly.

Wargreymon grunted with distaste for the situation they had landed in. Using one of his friends as bait was the last thing he wanted to do, but he could not see any other way to draw Daemon out and nor could any of the others. Until they could think of something better, this was the best and only trick they had left up their sleeve.

"Good luck Gatomon." Wargreymon said quietly, more to himself than anyone else, "We won't be far behind."

* * *

><p>"Move it people! Let's get these kids on board and get 'em outta here!"<p>

A handful of soldiers and helicopter crew scrambled about the centre of the park, ushering the youngest survivors towards the twelve choppers that had just landed. Their blades drowned out all but the most strained shouting. Most of the youngsters were either too scared or too exhausted to do anything but let themselves be shepherded over to the air transports. This was not true, however, of the Digidestined.

Tai stood with his companions, looking at the pandemonium before them. He wanted more than anything to be taken away from Odaiba, rescued from the hell they had been living in. However, it was only now that the helicopters had arrived that he realised that rescue might have to wait. With all the other children, teenagers and some older survivors and only twelve black hawks, there was some serious doubt as to whether there would be space enough for them.

Their one concern, however, was T.K. He had not shown any major improvement and even with the American soldiers defending the park it was not safe to have him within reach of Daemon's undead forces. While reluctant to be split up again, they had seen no better option than to try and get T.K. aboard one of the helicopters. Matt and Izzy had taken him down to the loading area as soon as the choppers had landed, with Kari following close behind, obviously wanting to wish him a personal goodbye if possible. If it were Tai's choice he would have everyone join T.K. on a transport, but with all the other survivors, many younger than him, it did not seem fair to take spots for himself and his friends at their expense. They were innocent in all this.

"Why aren't we going down there?" Yolei asked. Her voice was weak, yet her desire to be reach safety resonated strongly.

Tai turned slowly, but before he could say anything, Joe answered the question for him.

"Daemon sent this plague to Earth to kill us." he said solemnly, his gaze steely and set upon the loading area, "We're the reason all this is happening. We can't save ourselves at the expense of all these people as well – especially those younger than us."

"But it's not our fault…" Yolei said meekly. It was clear she had already accepted Joe's words, but it seemed some small part of her still refused to believe that their ordeal was not yet over.

"No, it's not our fault, but that doesn't mean it's not our responsibility." Sora told her as gently as possible.

They all fell silent at that. There was nothing left for them to say. The same, however, could not be said of Izzy who came running up to the group from the choppers.

"Izzy? What's wrong?" Tai asked, becoming a little worried, "Can't you get T.K. on?"

"No, T.K.'s fine." the redhead replied hurriedly, panting from his run, "But there might be some more room that we can use on the helicopters."

"What about everyone else? All those other people?" Joe queried.

"All the kids are on board and the Americans told me that they want the youngest people airlifted out first." Izzy told him.

Tai and the rest of the Digidestined looked at each other. None of them wanted to stay, but at the same time they did not want to deny the other, innocent survivors the chance to escape either. Tai looked uneasily at Izzy. The young genius registered his gaze but did not relent.

"Tai they specifically said they want the youngest out first; they're not going to leave until they fill all the spots on board the transports." Izzy said.

Tai hesitated. The Americans were obviously very determined to get them on board the choppers. There was no way they would understand the Digidestined's reasons for not wishing to leave, much less the true nature of the plague sweeping Japan. Every second they waited now was a second longer the children who had already boarded the transports had to stay.

Seeing no other way, Tai relented, motioning to Izzy for him to lead the way. Tai then beckoned to the rest of the group to follow him. He was still conflicted. He did not feel right taking a place on the transports someone else could use, but at the same time the American troops were not making it easy.

As they neared the helicopters they could see Matt arguing with the Major that Joe had spoken with earlier. Leaving the rest of the group at the edge of the loading area, Tai approached Matt and the officer, hoping to find out exactly what was happening. It was impossible to hear what was being said between the two until they came right up to the pair.

"-you let someone else get on? What difference does it make? Do you have to split us up?" Matt yelled over the whirring chopper blades, frustration clear in his voice and expression.

"This is the last time kid; I don't care if your parents are still here or whatever! Your group is the next youngest and I'm getting as many of you out as I can! Pick your six and be quick about it!" the Major shouted back, obviously disinterested in Matt's protests.

Matt grimaced, but then spotted Tai and the others and closed the small gap between them.

"Matt, what's the deal?" Tai shouted, his voice raised barely high enough to be heard above the rotors.

"There's two choppers left with space. I think he said that they can fit about six more people!" Matt yelled his reply, starting to sound hoarse having spoken over the helicopter blades for a good few minutes, "He says they'll only take us seeing as we're the youngest ones not already on board and he's not budging on that – believe me, I've been arguing with him since I got down here!"

Six? The first candidates to leave that sprang to Tai's mind were the five remaining younger Digidestined. T.K. was already on board one of the chopper and he would be lying if he said he did not want his little sister taken to safety. But with those five there was left one additional space and Tai had no idea who should have it.

"Who's lucky number six?" Tai asked Matt, who seemed to understand that the younger Digidestined made up the other five, looked over Tai's shoulder to Mimi, Izzy, Joe and Sora.

"I know who you want it to be, but y'know there's no way she'll agree!" Matt told him, still with his eyes focused on the group behind Tai.

Tai could only nod in response. If he had his way he would have Sora take the last remaining spot in a heartbeat. He knew his emotions were clouding his better judgement, but he could not see himself picking anyone else before her. At the same time, though, he knew she would punch him for even suggesting that to her. She knew it was not because Tai thought she was unable to handle it, but she would feel insulted nonetheless.

When he thought about it even more, though, there was no one in the group who would agree to leaving either. It would be hard enough getting the younger Digidestined to go along with it much less Izzy, Mimi or Joe, and Matt staying was a forgone conclusion as the blond's rather steely gaze was telling him. There was, however, one more person to consider.

"What about Sora's mother?" Tai yelled at Matt, hoping to get some support.

"Mrs Takenouchi?" Matt replied, raising a eyebrow, "Well sure, but I don't think the Major is gonna agree to it!"

"Fuck him! He's getting five of us, he can compromise on one adult!" Tai shouted defiantly.

It was the best case scenario he could think of. Getting the younger Digidestined out of danger was a given, but seeing as how exhausted Sora's mother was, and how ill suited to outrunning undead she was, there was no other real option for the sixth place on the transports. With this in mind, Tai approached the Major.

"Son hurry up and get six of you on board, we're out of time!" the American officer yelled over the roaring chopper blades as he saw Tai come up to him.

"Sir, we'll put our five youngest on, but we also want you to take my friend's mother!" Tai stated firmly, wanting to put up a strong front before the military man.

The Major shook his head and retorted, "That lady over there? Look, I want the youngest on first, so-"

"You're already getting five teenagers, so what does one adult matter? We can handle ourselves better than she can here! Please just make an exception!" Tai implored, hoping that the man would reconsider.

For a second, the Major just stood still and stared at Tai, seemingly in a state of deep thought. After a few seconds he relented.

"OK fine, if it'll get you lot on board then suit yourselves – just hurry up and get them on board!" he shouted before turning and heading off in the direction of what must have been the lead helicopter.

Elated, Tai motioned to Matt and dashed back over to the group. As he was running, Tai kept mulling over ways of getting them all to agree to what he was about to tell them. He knew that Davis, Cody and Ken would protest against their leaving before anyone else. Yolei had voiced some interest in leaving earlier, but Tai also knew she would have a commitment to keeping everyone together. As for Kari, he thought, she would probably be conflicted; the concussed T.K. was being airlifted out and she had been particularly clingy toward him since his injury, but then she had always been very close to her older brother and the thought of leaving while he stayed behind would not sit well with her.

After all of that, though, Tai knew that they would also have to convince Sora's mother to go, leaving her daughter behind. Mrs Takenouchi had already lost her husband to this outbreak and Tai knew from experience that she was incredibly protective of Sora. If she had wanted the girl to quit junior soccer because of a minor injury to her knee there was no way she would take the new situation well.

Tai sighed. His only thought was to get them to board before he and Matt told them that the older Digidestined would not be joining them. It was completely dishonest and he was sure that none of them would be at all happy about it, but they did not have the time to argue it out. Swallowing hard, Tai and Matt covered the last few metres, reaching the rest of the group, all of whom were intently awaiting his return.

"Guys, the Major isn't gonna change his mind – we have to fill the remaining places." Tai told them quickly, no longer needing to shout to be heard over the helicopter blades now that he was further away from them.

The expression of each Digidestined was mixed, a conflict between relief and guilt, coloured with streaks of frustration. However, when they all looked at Matt for confirmation, they received a heavy and solemn nod. Knowing better than to argue any further they all relented and readied themselves to move.

"Davis, get your guys on first, we'll be right behind you." Tai told his younger counterpart.

Davis gave him a quick nod and led the Ken, Yolei, Cody and Kari down to the choppers. Before they moved off, Tai moved closer to Matt.

"Tell Joe, Mimi and Izzy to go down, but not get on." Tai whispered into Matt's ear, "Make sure they know to say their goodbyes now."

"You sure man? That means you just lied to Davis." Matt murmured back.

"Do you have another way to get them to agree to leave us here?" Tai asked.

Matt answered with action as he moved over to Joe, Mimi and Izzy and began giving them the instruction Tai had told him. Tai himself moved over to Sora; she had to be the one to get her mother on board a helicopter.

"Sora, I need you to do me a favour." Tai said to her calmly, trying his best to stay composed.

"What is it Tai?" Sora asked with concern, seemingly able to sense his discomfort.

"We're not going – I need you to get your mother-" Tai tried to explain, but Sora jumped in before he could finish.

"Not going? But you just said-" Sora started before she was cut off in turn.

"Look, they can only take six more of us, so we're getting the younger guys and your mother out." Tai elaborated, this time without interruption.

"My mother? But… But what…" Sora stumbled, unsure of what to say.

"Sora if she stays and we get attacked again, she might not make it." Tai said seriously, looking her straight in the eyes, "Get her onto the transport first, then explain to her why we're staying, she won't get on if you tell her first."

Sora looked unsure and Tai could not blame her as she had an unenviable choice before her. She could choose either to deceive her mother, not over something small but over the wellbeing and safety of her only child, or she could allow her mother, her only remaining immediate family member, to remain in Odaiba and face the danger that Daemon's undead masses still posed. In the end, however, Sora did not have to contemplate her options for very long.

"OK, I'll take her down." she said before turning and covering the few metres between her and her mother.

Tai sighed with a mix of relief and continued dread. The hardest part, the revelation and the goodbye, was still to come.

* * *

><p>Gatomon nimbly pressed onwards into the mist, her ears pricked up like a hunter stalking its next kill. But Gatomon was not the one hunting. Gatomon was the prey.<p>

As she continued on, the little white cat could have sworn that the haze was getting thicker. With every passing moment she could see less and less as the choking fog swirled slowly around her. Wargreymon had promised that he and the other Digimon would not be far behind, but with the growing mist she was no longer sure if they would be able to stay close enough to save her if and when Daemon attacked.

Each second she regretted volunteering for this, and each second she would have to remind herself why they were there and why Daemon had to be destroyed. Kari was on Earth, as were the other Digidestined, and they were all at the mercy of Daemon's plague. From the moment she renounced her loyalty to Myotismon, Gatomon had sworn to herself that no harm would ever come to Kari if she could prevent it. Now, like so many times before, it was time for her to make good on her pledge, and she did not intend to fail.

Looking around self-consciously, despite the fact that she knew that she would be unable to tell if anyone was watching her, she moved her right paw to rest on her left. Slowly she slid her green clawed glove halfway off, revealing scars she had received a lifetime ago. She had taken many beatings and punishments from Myotismon while she was in his service and they had left irremovable upon her. But she now believed that she had sustained those tortures across the span of years so that one day she would be delivered to Kari, her partner and dearest friend. She would gladly sustain more today if it meant she would see the brown haired girl again some day.

As these thoughts were coursing through Gatomon's mind, a small tongue of flame materialised some ten or fifteen metres in front of her. Partly because of her preoccupation and partly because of the fog she did not see it at first, but when it grew larger and more intense, roaring like a ghostly inferno, she jumped back in shock. There was only one explanation for it.

"Help!" Gatomon screamed into the mist, hoping that her friends would arrive before it was too late.

* * *

><p>Sora brought up the rear, pulling her mother along with her. They were the last to make it down to the helicopters, leaving only one with room left. Sora shepherded her mother towards it, seeing Cody, Ken and Yolei already aboard. As she approached, Sora observed the three younger Digidestined. Cody and Yolei looked as if they were arguing with Joe, who was standing outside the chopper right in front of the open door, while Ken appeared to be doing the same with Izzy who stood beside the eldest Digidestined. Mimi had placed herself between the two boys and was jumping in to support them in each of their arguments.<p>

"Great, this is obviously going well." Sora muttered to herself, although her words were completely inaudible anyway thanks to the rotor blades.

"Sora, that helicopter looks very full!" Toshiko observed, "Will we even fit on?"

"It'll be fine Mum!" Sora yelled back to her, not wanting to get into the details before her mother was safely on board.

As they finally reached the chopper, Sora hastily pushed her mother aboard, hoping she would not catch on in time to resist. Thankfully, Toshiko remained unaware of what was happening, not paying close enough attention to have heard the protests of the three young Digidestined also on board.

"Sora, it's very cramped in here, I'm not sure if you'll fit! Maybe I should get off and-" Toshiko pondered before being interrupted by her daughter.

"Mum it's fine, I'll get on another one, you just stay here!" Sora told her bluntly, hating herself for what she was doing to her only parent.

"But all of the others were full! Where are you…" Toshiko yelled before a look of realisation dawned on her.

Sora felt her mother's gaze change from one of confusion to one of shock and terror. The redheaded girl now knew that her mother had figured out what was going on, what she and Tai had been talking about before her daughter led her down to the loading area. Swallowing hard, Sora braced herself for what was to come.

"Sora, there is no way you are going to send me off stay here yourself!" her mother screamed at her, not out of anger but out of fear for the life of her daughter.

"Mum, please don't do this now! I'll be fine, just get yourself to safety!" Sora responded, ignoring the attention they had gained from the other passengers.

"Sora I'm not leaving you here by yourself! Please take my place!" Toshiko pleaded as she tried to disembark, but Sora held her back.

"I'll have Matt, Mimi, Izzy, Joe and Tai! Please just go Mum!" she entreated, gritting her teeth with rising frustration.

"I will not leave and let my only child risk her life like this! Why can't you understand Sora; you're all I have left, please don't do this!" Toshiko begged, her eyes slowly beginning to well with tears.

Her mother's words hit Sora hard. The words she had once shouted in sadness and confusion were now echoed back to her. Now it was Sora being told she did not understand. There was no way that her mother would voluntarily let her stay. But Sora was not a child anymore.

"Mama, I'll survive this, I promise you! I just want you to trust me! I will be OK!" she yelled, now starting to shed tears of her own, "I can take care of myself, plus I'll have the others with me! Just please get yourself to safety – you can't last as long as I can!"

"Sora no, you-" Toshiko tried to say, but Sora would not let her finish; she already knew what her mother was going to say.

"I'm not a child anymore Mama! You were right to worry and protect me once, but I'm not the little girl I used to be! You know that, don't you…" she said with finality, knowing that saying anymore might cause her to break down.

Toshiko had a strange look on her face. Her tears had not stopped flowing, but her expression had changed, softening and becoming calmer. Before Sora could do anything else she was swiftly pulled into the tightest hug she had felt in years. Her mother had latched onto her and was squeezing her so hard it was as if the woman believed this would be the last time she would see her daughter.

"Be careful… please come back to me alive." she spoke softly into Sora's ear.

Sora was shocked. She had not expected her mother to ever give up, but it now seemed that Toshiko had given her blessing to her daughter to do what she thought was best. There were only a few words that came to her mind.

"I will… I love you Mama." Sora said, barely managing to avoid choking on her own tears.

She heard her mother sob into her shoulder before she was released from the hug. Sora stepped back to join Izzy, Mimi and Joe, preparing to see the helicopter carrying their loved ones off. Sora held back her tears now, feeling she had cried enough. She wanted to stay as hopeful as possible, if for no other reason than to appear strong for her mother; the woman was worried enough without seeing her daughter in any sort of distress.

Toshiko, still teary eyed and sitting next to Yolei, Ken and Cody, waved her goodbye before an American soldier slid closed the helicopter door and banged the side of the hull, signalling to the pilot that they were cleared to depart.

Sora wiped her face, drying the salty streaks from her cheeks. She had made her peace with her mother, even if she might not be able to fulfil her promise. Now she was ready for whatever the future might bring, be it salvation or destruction. There was one other thing still left outstanding, but she would not be troubled by some unresolved or unrequited feelings – at least not yet.

* * *

><p>Tai came up to the helicopter T.K. had been loaded onto just as Davis helped Kari climb aboard. Matt, who had reached them before Tai, was hurrying them along, pushing Davis to get on immediately after he had finished assisting Kari. Trusting Matt to deal with Davis, Tai made to say his goodbyes to his little sister.<p>

"You OK Kari?" Tai shouted, grabbing Kari's wrist with one hand and placing the other on her shoulder.

She had taken the space right next to T.K., who was lying on a stretcher the Americans had provided. Tai noticed that her gaze kept shifting between him and the boy he knew she cared so much for. Tai was in some way comforted by this as he thought that at least Kari would be near and would want to look after T.K., keeping her mind off her older brother. At least he hoped that that would be the case.

Despite the fact that Tai knew she had heard him, she took a few moments to respond. For a moment, Kari looked away from her brother and from T.K., viewing the other evacuees who had boarded the chopper. Finally, she looked back at him and responded to his question of concern. She spoke softly, so much so that Tai failed to hear her over the rotor blades.

"What?" Tai yelled, cupping his right hand behind his ear to signal he had not heard her.

"There's no more room, Tai! How're you going to fit on?" Kari shouted, this time loud enough for her voice to be heard.

Looking into his sister's eyes, Tai could see the uncertainty and the fear from which she was suffering. Kari was not the dependant little girl she had once been, but the ordeal of the previous days had drained her of so much. Tai had not seen her so distressed and exhausted since their first adventures in the Digital World, and it was clear that she was running on willpower alone at this point. He did not want to put her through any more anguish, but now that she was finally on board the helicopter there was no longer any point in hiding from her what she would soon discover anyway.

"I'm not leaving Kari. Me and the older guys are gonna wait for the helicopters to come back!" Tai told her, not daring to blink so he could see her reaction.

Kari blanched when she heard her brother's words, her face becoming so pale that Tai could have sworn she had fallen seriously ill right before his eyes. Her first attempt at words came out as a harsh choking sound, her mouth opening and closing, seemingly unable to form words. After a few seconds she managed to regain enough composure to reply.

"T-Tai… no! You can't stay! No!" she begged, not wanting to believe what he had just told her.

"I'm sorry Kari, I'm sorry! But we can't – there's no room!" Tai yelled, trying his best to explain to her what she obviously had no desire to hear.

"Tai no! If you're staying… then so am I!" she shouted, he voice shaking.

"Kari, you stay where you are!" Tai responded firmly, gripping both her shoulders and holding her in place.

Just then, Tai heard a yell and looked over to see Matt holding Davis on board as the younger boy tried aggressively to get off the black hawk. Matt, being the larger of the two, was strong enough to hold him back, but Davis' struggling was becoming more and more vigorous with each attempt to get past the Digidestined of friendship. Tai decided he would have to wrap things up with his sister as fast as possible, or Davis might become a problem. Looking briefly at T.K., he saw the young boy as an opportunity to justify to Kari why she needed to leave, regardless of what Tai himself was doing.

"Kari, look at T.K.!" Tai told her, bringing his own gaze back to the Takaishi boy.

"Wha-what." Kari whimpered, not loud enough to be heard, but Tai was able to lip read her one word.

"Look at him!" Tai urged impatiently.

She did so, her confusion was clear as she kept looking back to her brother, hoping for an explanation.

"He's still hurt and he needs someone to look after him!" Tai shouted.

Kari did not respond, but now her eyes were fixed solely on T.K., no longer moving between him and her brother.

"Kari, I'm trusting you to do that! I know how you feel about him and I trust you you'll take good care of him!" Tai instructed, hoping that this would be enough to convince her to stay on the helicopter without further protest.

"But what about-" Kari began, but Tai, wanting nothing but safety for his sister, would not let her finish.

"Don't worry about me or anyone else – T.K. is your responsibility now Kari!" Tai shouted, his voice now becoming rather strained from having to talk over the rotors for so long, "Stay with him!"

Kari looked about ready to cry but she managed to hold it in, squeezing her eyes shut and nodding heavily, releasing only the smallest of sobs. Tai, knowing this might be the last time he would see his sister, leaned over and embraced Kari as tightly as he could. She returned the hug immediately, reluctantly letting go when Tai pulled away.

"Be safe, OK!" he said, as he moved over to where Matt was still restraining Davis and giving Kari a final wave goodbye.

"You too!" he heard he say after him as he came up next to the two scuffling teens.

Both Matt and Davis were growling a near unintelligible argument as they tried to overcome the other. Matt had his left hand on Davis' chest, while his right firmly held the younger Digidestined's shoulder. For his part, Davis had his right hand under Matt's chin and was pushing his head back while the Motamiya boy attempted to swat away the blond's arms with his left. The two were quite practically wrestling each other, each trying to make the other submit. Despite Davis' efforts Matt had the upper hand, mostly due to his age. Nevertheless, Davis was not about to give up. It was only when Tai strained his ears did he pick up what the two were saying.

"Matt… let go! I have… to… stay!" Davis grunted harshly as he struggled to break the older Digidestined's grip and get off the helicopter.

"Davis stop! Stop it!" Matt managed to squeeze out as Davis had his head pushed back into a very awkward position.

Having seen enough, Tai moved to break them up and get Davis to stand down. With a swift downward movement of his right arm, the Digidestined leader broke Matt and Davis' grips on each other. Simultaneously, Tai extended his left arm and grabbed a hold of Davis' shoulder, holding him in place.

"Enough, both of you!" Tai yelled loudly, even considering the fact that he had needed to speak over the sounds of the choppers.

"Tai you can't stay – not without me! I'm not leaving you guys here!" Davis shouted, immediately pleading his case and hoping for some sympathy from his idol.

"Davis that's not happening! You're leaving with your team and that's that!" Tai responded adamantly, "Were out of time so you need to-"

"But I can help! You know me Tai – I can fight!" Davis continued argued, refusing to give up.

"Davis no! These helicopters won't leave without you and they can't fit all of us!" Tai told him with a definite air of finality to his words.

"Besides, it's getting you out of danger too man! It's the best we can do right now!" Matt added, trying to help Tai out as much as possible.

"But no- You- I- You can't!" Davis shouted, shaking his head incessantly.

Tai was surprised to see that Davis was crying. He was doing his best to hide it, but it was plain to see the small translucent beads sliding down to teen's face. This was something Tai had never seen his friend do. He knew that the young leader was by no means invincible, but he had never openly shown any of his darker emotions; it was always anger, boredom, happiness or a myriad of other feelings, but never the simple sadness that Tai now saw before him. Looking over at Matt, he also had the same look of pure surprise that Tai was sporting.

"Davis…" Tai said, not sure he had spoken loud enough to be heard.

"I- I can't leave… I can't fail you… not again!" Davis cried as he stopped resisting and slumped back against the throng of other survivors also on board. No one really noticed though as most had lost interest once he had stopped struggling against Matt.

"Fail? What?" Tai said, louder than his last words, but not so loud that he was shouting. Davis must have heard him, however, as the younger leader explained what he had meant.

"I failed before at the police station! I threw a tantrum like a kid and ran off! I could have gotten myself or you guys killed!" Davis told his mentor, the tears still streaming steadily from his eyes.

Tai had no idea Davis had taken everything in this way. He had known that Davis was still troubled, but he had just assumed that the boy was still reeling from his father's death. While that was probably still a part of it, it was now clear that there was more to it.

"Please… let me stay! I can do better – I can make up for it!" Davis pleaded, looking Tai straight in the eye with a look that begged him to let the young leader stay. But Tai knew that no matter what he could not allow Davis to remain behind with them, and he had to set the teenager straight.

"Davis listen, you haven't failed us! You don't have to make up anything to me or anyone else!" Tai told him strongly.

"But I could have-" Davis tried to say.

"I should never have pushed you in the first place!" Tai shouted, hoping that he would understand, "Davis, you have nothing to be sorry about!"

"But I can still help…" Davis offered feebly.

He had stopped crying but his mood had not improved. Like he had done with Kari, Tai thought that the best way to at least keep Davis stable was to give him something to do, give him some responsibilities to keep him focused on what he needed to do. Tai leaned in close so Davis could hear what he was saying without needing to yell, as at this point the Digidestined of courage's voice was beginning to break up from having done so for so long.

"Davis, I want you to do something for me." Tai spoke gently and directly, "Kari will be taking care of T.K. until we all meet up again. While you're in the air I want you to watch over both of them, OK?"

Davis merely nodded to say that he had heard, but he also lowered his gaze no longer meeting his mentor eye to eye.

"When you land as well," Tai continued, "it'll be your job to make sure that Ken, Yolei, Cody and Sora's mum are all alright. Can you do that for me?"

Again Davis nodded without any other sign word.

"Davis I trust you; I wouldn't ask if I didn't." Tai said simply, sensing that this reassurance was what Davis was after.

Sure enough, the leader of the younger Digidestined raised his head again, levelling his gaze with Tai's.

"OK." Davis said.

It was simple, but that was all Tai needed to hear. He knew that the boy was still troubled, but for now he was confident his junior counterpart would keep it together. Once he had something meaningful to do, Davis would commit himself to it wholeheartedly, and looking after his closest friends in the world more than qualified.

Tai and Matt both stepped back as an American soldier came to slide closed the black hawk's side doors. As the squadron of helicopters rose from the ground and began heading to their destination, Tai sighed.

"Wondering if you'll ever see them again?" Matt asked bluntly, having heard his sigh now that the choppers had departed.

"Yeah." Tai answered simply, seeing no reason to hide this from his friend.

"Me too." Matt replied, sighing himself as both teenagers solemnly watched the dark silhouettes of the helicopters gradually blend in with the blackness of the night sky until only the faintest blinking of their lights could be seen in the distance.

They both full well that the danger had not yet subsided. The city around them was still swarming with Daemon's horde and gunshots and screams could now once again be heard, piercing through the darkness of the night like darts of fear, penetrating and infecting all who heard them with dread.

Tai was glad at least that his sister and the younger Digidestined were now safe, as well as Toshiko Takenouchi. The thought of Sora's mother brought his mind to the girl herself. Turning around he saw her standing with Izzy, Joe and Mimi, and for perhaps the first time ever he caught her staring at him. While Tai would normally have flushed red and turned away immediately, he now just smiled nodded to her, a nod which she returned.

Perhaps, if the end were to come, he would tell her. For now, however, he just wanted to spend what time he could with her and his friends. Beckoning Matt, Tai began walking over to the other four, the wild bestial sounds of the infested city echoing all the while.

* * *

><p>Wargreymon shot off into the mist like a great digital bullet, following the sound of Gatomon's scream. With the thickening of the fog he and the other Digimon had fallen behind and the distant echo of her shriek caught the armoured warrior by surprise. He had not realised how far apart she had gotten from the group. He only prayed that he would make it in time to save her.<p>

"Gatomon!" he roared as he soared through the air, cutting through the fog.

Before long he came upon the white cat, who was still rooted to the spot she had screamed from. Wargreymon could see that that she was severely shaken by whatever had just happened to her. Her eyes were wide, her jaw hanging low. She appeared frozen as she was not moving her arms and legs, her gaze focused on a single spot out in the swirling haze. Wargreymon would have thought that something had been done to her were it not for her loud, heavy breathing.

"Gatomon, what happened?" Wargreymon asked worriedly as the other Digimon finally made it to them, all of them out of breath except for Biyomon, Hawkmon, Tentomon and Patamon who had flown.

"I- I-" Gatomon stuttered, "There was a fire…"

"A fire?" Wargreymon questioned, "Was it Daemon?"

"Of course it was me you fools!" the dark, imposing voice of their enemy echoed all around them.

"Coward! Where are you?" Wargreymon bellowed into the mist, but he received only laughter in return.

"What did you do?" Wargreymon demanded, his eyes narrowing in anger and irritation.

"Fool! You thought me stupid enough to fall for that old trick?" Daemon chided him from wherever he was hiding in the fog, "I had to call your bluff – just ignite a small flame and all the insects come rushing."

"Face me like a mon! Fight fairly you spineless digital reject!" Wargreymon roared into the fog, daring their foe to meet him head on.

"Only the dead fight fair, as you will soon discover!" Daemon threatened darkly, causing the rookies to all wince.

Wargreymon began scanning every direction, waiting to see what the dark sorcerer would do next. His last threat had sounded so final, as if Daemon had nothing left to say, nothing left to do but destroy as many of them as he could. The dragon warrior was now deeply worried. At best their foe was deadly and unpredictable, and while Wargreymon himself was in little danger, he could not say the same for his companions.

A bolt of fire snapped him out of his thoughts and he moved to intercept it before it reached its target. The flaming spear impacted harshly against his dramon destroyer, but it left no mark, the metal still as clean and unblemished as the moment Agumon had warp digivolved.

"Thanks Wargreymon." Gomamon said shakily, still in shock from the sudden attack.

Suddenly, Daemon's laughter once again filled the air, still seeming to come from every direction at once, as if there were dozens of Daemon clones surrounding them.

"Bravo, you have deflected one of my attacks." the dark sorcerer mocked gleefully, "now let us see how many more you can block before I destroy one of your weakling friends."

Wargreymon grunted angrily.

"Get close to me everyone!" he ordered, "This is gonna be rough."

* * *

><p>"Major, Charlie squad just found Bravo."<p>

"Well what the hell happened to them?" the Major demanded of his subordinate.

"Sir, they were wiped out; Sergeant Wilkes said he had to shoot Ramirez himself."

"Captain Barnes, what the fuck did you just say?" the Major exclaimed, not believing what he had just been told.

"They turned into… into those things sir." Barnes replied grimly.

"Shit, that means we're down to three squads!" the Major cursed, hardly believing how fast the situation had deteriorated.

"That's not all sir." Captain Barnes admitted.

The American commander said nothing, merely staring blankly at the Captain waiting for a reply.

"We just lost contact with Alpha as well." Barnes informed him, the panic barely contained in his voice.

The Major exhaled harshly. Looking up he could see the six teenagers who had been causing such a fuss with the helicopters. Of the thirty or so remaining survivors, they were the youngest still there. At any other time they might have reminded the man of his children, but right now they were his objective; he had to keep them alive, no matter what the cost.

"Barnes, get Charlie and Delta back here now. If we're gonna hold these bastards off until Hunter Squadron gets back we'll need to dig right the fuck in." he ordered gruffly.

"Yes sir!" the Captain affirmed before dashing off to find a radio.

Bringing his gaze back to those six teenagers, the Major turned the safety off on his assault rifle, readying himself for what was coming.

"So this is it – the beginning of the end."

As he spoke those words the screams and shooting moved ever closer to them. The darkness gathered, the blood spilled and the undead moved slowly forward.


	14. Chapter 14: The Night is Ending

**Hello again. This is the penultimate chapter of this story and its going to set us up for the finale. It's not perfect, but I hope you all enjoy it. As you approach the end, I find your faults and mistakes start to become really obvious and I can see that I have some serious improvements to make, but I am treating this as a learning process and if nothing else I'm starting to see the specific things I need to fix in my writing.**

**As for the final chapter, unfortunately it will have to be put on hold until late November, early December, when I hope to post it and a short-ish epilogue. To answer to some reviews:**

**Vigatus: You kind of pre-empted me a bit there. Kind of the bane of releasing chapters once every so often, the explanation can often come in the following chapter.**

**Mimato love 4ever: Thanks, and I hope I don't disappoint.**

**Aizawa Li Syaoran Vessalius**: **Thanks again for your kind words :)**

**Guest (I'm thinking this might be nerdxx3 – it shows up as 'Guest' in my emails): I guess we all need to be full of ourselves once in a while :P. Hope you enjoy this chapter too.**

**Also thanks to Just Smile3 and Slow Snail for favouriting and cutey-azn and AngelSachiya for following.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Digimon or any of the characters, they are the property of Toei Animation.**

A clamour of shouting filled the air while the soldiers hurried about, carrying out their instructions like buzzing worker bees. While these American troops had been patrolling outside the park only minutes ago, they had since been ordered back inside the fence and were now establishing defensive positions at the four gates leading into the safe zone they had established, a seeming oasis amid the chaos that was the city of Odaiba. As the unit commander barked orders to his subordinates, a curious and worried Izzy Izumi looked on, oblivious to the conversation his five friends were having right next to him.

He had been listening to the Major speak to his second in command, a Captain who apparently went by the name of Barnes, for a few minutes now, ever since the order had gone out for the American squads to return. What bothered Izzy was the rather flustered mood the Major was in and the fact that there were less soldiers than the young genius had assumed there would be. Izzy's hopes had not been helped either by the fact that he had overheard the two officers speaking about how one of their squads, Bravo he had heard, had been wiped out. The Izumi boy had heard a lot about the US Marines, and he knew that anything that could annihilate a whole team of them had to be either very powerful or incredibly cunning.

While Izzy was mulling over these details, his brain working a mile a minute, he overheard something of interest as another soldier ran up to the two officers.

"Sir, I've managed to get a hold of Sergeant Kowalski and Alpha squad!" the young man panted as he delivered his report.

The Major appeared momentarily surprised by their good fortune, but he regained his composure a second later.

"Good work Specialist. Is Kowalski on the radio now?" he questioned intently, clearly hoping to find out what was happening with his wayward troops.

"Yes sir, just over here sir." the Specialist replied, motioning over to some equipment about twenty metres away, among which Izzy could see a radio from where one could hear a faint crackling.

Receiving a nod from his superior, the soldier led the two officers over to the radio. While Izzy was aware that there was little he could do to help, his curiosity was also very powerful. It had always been the case that the more he knew, the safer he felt and that element of his persona been tested severely throughout their ordeal, especially early on when the Digidestined had no idea what was happening. Now he was compelled to find out what had happened to some of the troops who were defending him and his friends, what Daemon's minions were doing and maybe how they had managed to take down a squad of the Americans.

Izzy followed the Marines, slowly at first but then speeding up when he saw that they either did not realise he was behind them or did not care whether or not they were overheard by a civilian. Izzy was focused so much on the Americans that he did not hear the calls of his friends who had noticed his movement away from them. He came to a halt by a lamp post some ten metres away from the Marines, still ignorant of the fact that his friends were calling after him. It was only when Matt placed a hand roughly on his shoulder did he notice.

"Dude, what the hell are you doing?" Matt questioned, a little irritated that he and the others had been ignored so completely by their genius friend.

Izzy simply placed a finger to his lips to quiet the Digidestined of friendship; he did not wish to miss out on what he had come to hear.

"Kowalski what the hell happened to you and your men? Bravo are all already dead, so give me some good news for a change." the Major spoke sternly, but still, beneath it all, it was possible to hear a twinge of concern for the wellbeing of his troops.

"Sir, those… those things ambushed us." came the voice of who must have been Sergeant Kowalski, sounding slightly crackled through the radio, "We fought our way out, but we've taken casualties and we're cut off from your position in the park."

"Ambushed? Cut off? Sergeant, according to intel these things couldn't figure out which end of a rifle fired bullets, let alone set traps for us." the Major challenged, and Izzy saw his eyes narrow, the man's cynicism clear at what his subordinate was telling him.

"Well intel was off Major. I swear, those things waited for us to walk right into the fuckin' middle of 'em before they came out and attacked us." came the Sergeant's reply, the man now sounding more flustered than when he had first spoken through the radio.

"Well are you alright now at least? You said you'd taken casualties." the American commander enquired.

"We lost Jenkins and Mendoza sir, and Ducard got tackled by one of those things and has a dislocated arm. We also had to burn through a lot of lead to get out of it, so we're low on ammo as well." Kowalski informed his superior, his voice sounding grave.

"OK… OK Sergeant, what's your current location?" the Major questioned.

By this stage Izzy had heard all he wanted to. His curiosity had been satisfied, even if what he had heard was less than comforting. The situation was becoming more and more dire, and until the Americans' black hawks returned, there was nowhere else for them to go. The redheaded genius moved silently away from the officers, Matt close behind.

"So these things keep getting smarter or what?" Matt stated more than asked, clearly discomforted by the new information.

"It's Daemon. He's controlling them remember." Izzy explained, his mind already having made sense of everything, "While combat planning is cognitively impossible for the infected, the same obviously isn't true of Daemon. I'm sure that he is more than capable of setting up ambushes."

"So, the American squad they said were all killed – that would have been Daemon too, right?" Matt asked, unnerved at his recollection of their enemy's ability to control his minions.

"I have no doubt that it was." Izzy replied simply.

"Great, walking corpses smart enough to take on soldiers. Remind me when we broke the thousand mirrors again." Matt commented sardonically.

Izzy forced a laugh. While being ignorant of facts and details had always made him afraid, knowing what they were up against was burdensome of itself. The only thing left for him to do now was to inform the others of what he and Matt had listened in on. After that, all they could do was wait. Wait for whichever happened first – the return of the helicopters or the final destruction of Daemon by their Digimon partners.

* * *

><p>Wargreymon roared as he deflected another of Daemon's fiery blasts. He had been on the defensive for almost fifteen minutes, and while he had not taken any real damage, the armoured warrior was beginning to grow weary of his foe's constant attacking from behind the smoky veil of fog that covered the Dark Ocean in its entirety. At one point Daemon's strikes had stopped for a short period, no more than two or three minutes, but they had soon resumed, much to Wargreymon's dismay and annoyance.<p>

Deciding he had had enough, the mega Digimon brought his claws together and waited for the next blow to be struck. He did not have to wait long, as a roaring ball of fire blasted in from behind. Wargreymon jumped and intercepted the attack, the fire fizzling out on the armoured skirt attached to his leg. Simultaneously he called together his energy, forming his ultimate attack.

"Terra Force!" Wargreymon yelled as a colossal, orange ball of pure energy formed almost instantaneously in his arms.

Holding the pulsing orb above his head, he twisted to face the direction the fiery shot had come from. Then, heaving his arms forward, he threw the ball straight into the fog, directly at the source of the attack. A split second passed with only the rushing sound Wargreymon's energy blast flying through the air. Then there was only light.

The radiance exploded outward, piercing the mist, illuminating the beach they stood on and nearly blinding all of the Digimon. It was soon joined by a storm of dust and wind as it rushed outward from the point of impact. Patamon, who had been hovering a metre or so off the ground, was blown out of the air, landing on top of Wormmon, who grunted and squirmed feverishly until Veemon pulled the little flying Digimon off him.

All the others remained still. They stood in eerie silence, watching the glow emanate from the murkiness, a temporary shining sun that lit up the dark, horrid dimension. As the light faded they were left back in the grey half light, wondering if they had finally triumphed over their adversary.

"Did it work?" Palmon asked tentatively.

"There's no way he could have moved fast enough. Even as Metalgarurumon I would have had trouble escaping that attack." Gabumon declared confidently.

Before anyone else could agree with him the same echoing laugh that had mocked them since they had met its owner rang out across the beach. This time, however, they could all tell from where it was coming. Before they all turned a full one hundred and eight degrees to face their enemy's new location, the dark sorcerer unleashed another of his scorching bolts of flame. This time Wargreymon was unable to stop it. The fire blazed past his dramon destroyers, surging into the crowd of his companions and finding its intended target.

The hissing and singeing of fur could be heard as Gabumon collapsed to the ground, smoke wisping slowly from his burned coat.

"You may want to re-evaluate your assumption." Daemon hissed maniacally, his voice oozing a sick sense of satisfaction.

Biyomon, Palmon and Tentomon immediately rushed to Gabumon's side, while Wargreymon assumed his defensive posture once again.

"How are you still alive!" Wargreymon roared into the mist, his anger rattling the other Digimon to their cores.

"Ha! You think that I can't outrun a poorly aimed blast like that?" Daemon chided, "Don't think your blind fire tactic will work against me."

For a few seconds Wargreymon was silent, trying to figure out what had just happened.

"This can't be possible; I threw my Terra Force right where that attack came from." Wargreymon said softly, more to himself than anyone else. He was therefore shocked when he received a reply.

"Or did you?" came Daemon's menacing tone, but this now he was behind them again.

Wargreymon spun around but was greeted only by the swirling mist, tormenting him, an impenetrable blanket that concealed their foe. The mega Digimon roared in anger and slammed one of his claws into the ground, embedding it deep in the sand. Daemon's laughter once more reverberated through the fog, mocking them and their every attempt to stop him. Then everything fell silent. The Digimon were all in two different worlds. Some shook with anger while others searched frantically for their enemy, even though there was little to no chance that they would be able to spot him in the haze. One of them had other things on his mind, however.

"Is Gabumon OK?" Patamon asked fearfully, bringing them all back to reality.

Tentomon, who had had his bright green eyes fixed in the direction from where Daemon's voice had last come from, immediately jerked his head back down to face the unmoving Gabumon, whose fur coat was still smouldering from the blast that hit him.

"He's unconscious, but I don't think it's as bad as it looks." Tentomon explained as he returned to examining his injured friend, "It seems like his coat helped protect his skin from the fire, but he still got hit pretty hard by that last attack."

The other Digimon all breathed a sigh of relief, but Wargreymon did not drop his guard. The mega Digimon had already seen how Daemon could strike from anywhere at any time and he did not intend to be caught unawares again.

His great concern now, though, was mobility. If Gabumon would not wake up and could not be moved then he and the others would be stuck in the middle of the beach, giving Daemon an even greater advantage.

"Can you wake him up, or can we move him some place safer?" Wargreymon asked gruffly as he continued to scan the area with his claws raised, ready to block any incoming attack. This time Biyomon was the one to describe Gabumon's condition.

"He's out cold – I don't think we can get him up." she relayed.

"Also I'm not sure it's safe to try and lift him or anything." Palmon added worriedly.

"We don't have much of a choice you guys. Standing out here in the open is far too dangerous with Gabumon in this condition." Wargreymon replied, feeling the pressure of the situation.

"But what if Daemon attacks us while we're moving him?" Tentomon questioned pointedly.

Wargreymon made to retort, but before he could Veemon chimed in.

"Speaking of Daemon, where is that creep? He hasn't attacked since he hit Gabumon." The little blue monster wondered out loud, clenching his fists and holding them up as if he wanted to start fighting as well.

Wargreymon was a little confused at first, but now that it had been mentioned, Daemon did not seem to be anywhere near them. If he was, the dark sorcerer certainly was not doing anything, or at least not that they could see. It was similar to his first wave of attacks. There had been a gap, only a few minutes long, where the fire blasts had stopped and everything was still. Of course they had started again soon enough, but the break had been there and somehow Wargreymon was not able to sense their enemy's presence during that time.

Now it was the same again. The armoured dinosaur was not getting the eerie feeling of being watched, just a discomforting stillness. Since he could not see through the fog he could not be sure, but Wargreymon could not shake the feeling that Daemon had left the area, for what reason he did not know.

"That… is a good question Veemon." Wargreymon said slowly.

The mega level looked down at his unconscious friend. Gabumon would be safer somewhere off the beach and now, assuming that Daemon was indeed someplace else, they had a golden opportunity to get him there. The only question was where this safe place could be. Luckily, they had one or two individuals familiar with the area.

"Gatomon, Patamon – is there somewhere out of the way we can take Gabumon? We need to be quick." he asked hurriedly, hoping that there was a place close by.

Gatomon responded quickly, bounding out in the direction they had seen the cliff face and calling over her shoulder as she went.

"Quickly, I do remember somewhere nearby."

* * *

><p>Mimi stood silently as Izzy recounted the conversations he had listened in on. Despite his best efforts, Daemon had been thwarted at every turn so far. The efforts of the now dead Colonel Takagi and his forces had held back the undead long enough for the Digidestined to escape, and even when he had finally managed to surround the teenagers with his minions the timely arrival of the Americans had spared them the terrible fate their vengeful foe intended.<p>

But now, Mimi sensed that Daemon was growing ever more determined to ensure their deaths. The effort he was putting into organising and directing his horde was considerable. As Izzy had described, the way he had his thralls take out one of the American squads had been methodical and calculating, more so than anything they had seen from him and his undead up until that point.

This is what Mimi found confusing. Why now? Had something happened to make Daemon even more desperate or impatient? Could it perhaps mean, she wondered, that their partners had arrived in the Dark Ocean?

"Izzy, do you think Daemon is doing all this now because of the Digimon?" Mimi asked once the redheaded genius had finished, causing his head to snap around in her direction.

"That's exactly what I was thinking Mimi." Izzy replied with a small nod, "I assume that either our partners have either confronted him or have at least entered the Dark Ocean."

"Good, then this should be over in like half and hour." Tai declared confidently, sweeping his hand out before him.

"I would hesitate to be that confident Tai." Izzy warned him seriously.

"What's the problem? There's no way that Daemon can beat Wargreymon?" Tai protested, surprised by Izzy's lack of optimism.

"I'm gonna have to agree with Tai on this one Izzy. I mean, you heard what Gennai said; Daemon is a shadow of what he used to be." Matt agreed, folding his arms as if to signify the finality of his statement.

"But that's just it. Daemon probably knows he can't win." Izzy retorted calmly.

"What? I don't get it." Joe said blankly.

"Let me put it this way; if I were Daemon, I would be stalling for time and not trying to fight a superior enemy like Wargreymon head to head."

Mimi knew what Izzy was getting at now and she decided to reply to the unasked question.

"So, if he is stalling, he's just hoping that we die before he does." she concluded, her tone deflated and troubled.

"Essentially yes. We can't be sure exactly what's happening in the Dark Ocean right now, but I'd bet that's what's happening." Izzy affirmed solemnly,

Mimi was unsure as to how she should feel. Now that they were under the protection of the American marines they were arguably in a better position than ever. But there was still an unpleasant feeling at the back of her mind, an aching weight that challenged her optimism. Daemon had proven his skill and cunning and they would be foolish to think he was anywhere close to giving up on his dreams of revenge. Until she heard the black hawks returning, Mimi knew that her doubts would remain.

As she looked again to her friends, the reality was brought home to her once again of not only what she could lose, but what would be lost to the world if the Americans failed to protect them. Joe was, and had been since he was just a kid a summer camp, a potentially brilliant doctor. Izzy, with his mind of technical brilliance, was destined for great things. Matt had musical talent and boldness that would take him far. Sora was perhaps the most empathetic person she had ever met and Mimi was certain that her future lay in helping others, like she always had. Last of all, in Tai she saw a talented athlete and a strong leader, both of which were beyond doubt. All of that could be lost at any moment.

In Tai and Sora, Mimi also saw the romance that she and the others had been trying for so long to think of a way to bring out in the two. For years now they had watched each other from afar with gazes laid bare their thoughts, and for so long they had continued on blindly, oblivious to they could easily discover if they only had the courage. Now there was the prospect that the happy day, where the two childhood friends would finally cast aside their shackles of doubt and timidness and have what both had for so long desired, might never come.

Mimi pondered whether it would be worse for them to discover each other, in the way that only they had so far failed to see, before the end came, or for their true feelings to stay hidden even to the death. To lose something that one had enjoyed so briefly, or to be ignorant of the fact it ever existed. It was difficult to fathom. Mimi just hoped the sounds of the black hawks would fill the sky before long so she would never have to find out.

For now, all that could be heard was distant gunfire, screams and shouts. Most terrifying, however, were the bone chilling growls and moans of the undead, barely audible above the other strife that had consumed Odaiba and their homes. Only now they were getting louder.

* * *

><p>Matt jumped as the American soldiers, who had now barricaded themselves in the park along with the older Digidestined and a handful of other civilians, fired the first round of what was to be their last stand. The squad of marines that had been cut off, as he and Izzy had overheard, had not returned and Matt was beginning to doubt they would make it at all.<p>

The only bright spot in all of it was that Sora's mother and the younger Digidestined, including his little brother, had already been air lifted out. Matt had no idea what T.K. was doing or if he was getting any medical attention, but at the very least he was certain that his brother was away from the this hell hole – the hell hole that Matt himself was still stuck in. With this in mind, he smirked. It was almost a blessing in disguise that T.K. had sustained a concussion only hours before, otherwise it would have been another battle on top of Davis to get him to leave.

Matt looked around. He, Tai, Sora, Mimi, Joe and Izzy were congregated on the outskirts of the landing area where the helicopters were set to land again when they returned. The other survivors, most appearing to be at least thirty or older, were dotted around the same space. Some were talking in whispers, one or two were even crying, but most simply sat or stood silently. There was little else they could do apart from wait and hope that they would get out safely.

Fifty metres away, eight American soldiers were taking cover behind a pile of upturned benches and tables that they had used to barricade the park's western gate. They worked in tandem, four firing their weapons, each being careful to cause as much damage as possible with every bullet, while the remaining four either reloaded their own guns or waited their turn to fire once their comrades had expended their current magazines. Their discipline and skill was evident and their transitions were nearly instantaneous, with breaks of less than a second between each. The dead were starting to pile up, with felled corpses already numbering in the dozens.

From where he was, it was possible for Matt to see every shot being fired and every impact upon Daemon's undead thralls. A few days ago, when all of this had started, Matt had been disgusted and terrified. The blood, the violence and the death had rocked him to his very core, and on several occasions he had needed a considerable amount of willpower to avoid throwing up or breaking down in fear. He had hid it as best as he could and by his own reckoning he had done an admirable job of remaining composed. But still, for the first couple of days he had been dangerously close to the edge; one more scare, another sight of a person having their throat bitten into and ripped out would have sent him tumbling over it.

Now, however, it was different. He watched as the marines systematically slaughtered the undead, shooting each one once in the head and once in the heart. Some required more punishment before they succumbed, but each one would eventually fall. He watched as body after body hit the ground hard. He watched as more and more blood poured out, soaking the grass and staining the stone pathway, causing each new corpse that fell to make a nauseating squelch as it landed on the now sticky, red-brown surface where once children and families had once walked in peace and happiness.

Matt saw all of this and took it in without a second thought. Less than a week ago the same scene would have sent him reeling. Now, frighteningly, it was almost bordering on normal. It had been a quick few days, but in that time he, as well as the others he was sure, had changed. It was only a few hours ago that Matt himself had bludgeoned some of the walking corpses, displaying a desperate but calculated brutality that, if he was honest with himself, scared him. It was strange, he thought, that he should think about this now, but the sight of this undead massacre brought forth in his mind everything that had happened since the outbreak.

Their Digimon had probably made it to the Dark Ocean and would soon be fighting Daemon if they were not already; it would all be over in the next few hours, helicopters or not. But even as they were so close to the end, and as much as he kept trying to convince himself otherwise, Matt knew things would never be the same. Too much had happened. They had seen so much and so many things had been destroyed, to say nothing of all the thousands, possibly more who had died because of a four year old grudge.

The whole ordeal had affected them all differently, but none of them in a good way. The likes of Davis, Yolei and, to a certain extent, Kari had been broken down, their feelings of anger, fear, hurt, confusion and powerlessness all bubbling to the surface and spilling over. Mimi was the complete opposite to those three. The once bubbly teenager had calmed down but had also lost so much of the enthusiasm and flair that made her who she was. Now all Matt saw was a girl who had been forced to give up a part of herself. He hoped that these changes would not be permanent, but as everything was balanced on a knife's edge as it was, there was some serious cause for doubt. Sora, Joe, Tai and the others were a little harder to read, but there was little doubt that they too were not the people they were a few days ago.

Matt then thought of himself. Had he changed? Was he any different? He had always been emotionally guarded, even after the fight against the Dark Masters during which he had turned a corner and become more comfortable with opening up to other people. Despite everything he was still able to maintain his characteristic 'cool' exterior, even though there was really no point; stress fear, grief or worry, they were all feeling at least one of those.

Matt felt no different, but he knew that could not be true. He just kept thinking back to the police station. He and Tai had been brutal when they had taken down the two undead outside the doors. They had been quick, but the viciousness of how they had struck their targets was not something Matt could easily forget. It had been only a moment, a moment of wild desperation, but in those few seconds he had committed the most violent act he ever had. Even if what he had struck down was already dead, his actions still lingered heavily at the back of his mind, burrowing deep and solidifying themselves in his memory.

Matt told himself for what felt like the millionth time that he had only done that because he had no choice. They had to get away safely. He could not have allowed one of those things to endanger them. Besides, it was dead, just a corpse. Why should he feel bad about doing that to something that was not even alive? But still he could not quiet his mind. A pressure had built in his head. It was something he could not describe. Was it guilt, regret or disgust in himself? It was something he had never felt before yet it was strangely familiar, close to a feeling he had experienced before, but years ago.

Sighing, Matt looked back over at the barricade from where the soldiers were still firing at the undead. The blood did not faze him, the bodies did not disgust him and the gurgling moans did not scare him. If there was one thing he knew, it was that he had quickly become accustomed to this death, gore and violence. 'Desensitisation', he remembered, was what one of his teachers had called it when they had once had a class discussion about movies and violence. It was a loss of innocence, or at least however much he had had left, and it was all Daemon's fault. It was all because of some random Digimon from their past who was still hell bent on revenge after all these years.

"I hope the Digimon rip that bastard apart." Matt muttered to himself, now with a sense of rage rising in his belly.

While he and his friends stood by, the shooting and yelling continued from the gate.

"Shit, running low on ammo Corporal!" yelled a private.

"We all are Howard!" the Corporal shouted fervently in reply, "You and Carter run a grab more – these things just keep coming!"

"There's so many! It's like the whole city got infected and are all headed here!" another private yelled.

The Corporal grunted and loaded another magazine into his assault rifle.

"Well let's hope we don't run out of bullets before they run out of bodies."

* * *

><p>"Lay him down here." Gatomon instructed after they had moved deep enough into the cave.<p>

"Nice place…" Gomamon quipped as he scanned around, looking at the dark, slimy walls of the cave which Gatomon had led them too.

The cavern, they had found, was down at the bottom of the cliff, opening up on the sand and proceeding deep into the rock of the rock face. It was wet, the walls were thickly coated in moss and it smelled like a combination of salt and a musty stench that none of them could quite identify. But, at the very least, it provided them with shelter from Daemon, who would now be unable to sneak up on them given the single entrance. That was, of course, assuming he was not already in there this was not where Daemon had been disappearing to.

"I remember seeing this place when T.K., Patamon and I came here to rescue Kari all those years ago." Gatomon recounted, "She told me later that she came in here and… found the things we saved her from."

Gatomon shivered as she remembered the things that had tried to take Kari away to the being they now knew to be called Dagomon. Kari had had many close calls before, and each time Gatomon felt torn up inside, like she had not done enough to keep Kari out of danger. These were not easy memories for her to recall.

"Will you be able to take care of Gabumon?" Wargreymon asked his friends.

"He should be fine with us – provided we're not attacked again, of course." Tentomon replied matter-of-factly.

"Good." Wargreymon said, "Now it's about time I finished this."

The other Digimon all sprouted looks of apprehension at his declaration.

"You're going out alone?" Biyomon questioned with obvious concern for her friend.

"All of you would only be useful as Digimon shields and I'm definitely not using any of you for that." he responded sternly, turning around to face the cave entrance and putting his back to them.

The Digimon knew better than to argue. They would have to wait the final round out as their most able warrior went out in search of their foe.

"Good luck Wargreymon." Gatomon uttered softly, but loud enough for them all to hear, and her words were echoed by the others.

The hulking armoured warrior turned his head around to look at his companions, two whom he gave a simple nod before proceeding back out into the mist. Now he would once again face the test of fighting an enemy he could not see.

* * *

><p>"Last mag!" one of the marines yelled as he loaded his assault rifle with the last of his ammunition.<p>

"Everyone back up!" a marine corporal bellowed, motioning for all of the civilians to stay behind him as the undead continued to advance.

The American troops had succeeded in felling scores of the walking corpses, but after half an hour they had diminished their ammunition and now had no choice but to fall back further into the park. Sora stayed close to the other Digidestined, not wanting them to get separated in a potential panic.

As they neared the centre of the park, Sora spotted the major who was in command of the marine forces in the area. He was frantically yelling into a radio, so loud that she could understand him clearly even from a distance.

"Refuelling?! Sir, I have a small army of these things bearing down on us! We can't wait another fifteen minutes – we're not gonna last! Fucking hell, which genius decided to park the fleet that far out anyway!" he screamed furiously into the mouthpiece.

Sora could not hear the reply, but whatever it had incensed the man as he violently threw down the receiver before removing his sidearm from its holster and cocking it.

"Marines, we need another way out – follow me!" he declared as he raised his pistol, ready to open fire as the need arose.

As the undead continued to pour into the park by the dozens, the Major shepherded his troops and the remaining civilians towards a corner of the park. While the gunshots were now less frequent, due to the marines trying to conserve what ammunition they had left, there was no sign of the soldiers giving up. They all had their backs to the wall at this point and if they were going down they would not do so without fighting to the bitter end. Sora hoped that it would not have to come to that and by the looks of the Major he had a plan to get out of the park without having to fight their way through the slowly advancing horde.

After a few more moments they reached the far north-east corner of the park. What they noticed was that there were no undead on the other side. Sora assumed that they had all gone for the gates and left the corners alone. This was their chance.

"We gonna climb this or what?" Tai wondered out loud when he too noticed the absence of Daemon's minions on the other side.

"It's too tall." Joe pointed out in a deflated tone, arcing his head up to see the top of the twelve foot high fence, "And even if you got a boost you'd pretty much impale yourself on the spikes at the top."

Sora looked at the top of the fence and saw what he meant. The fence, like many that framed parks, was made up of a continuous row of thin, vertical metal rods. Each one was topped off with an ornamental spike, resembling the fleur-de-lis symbol but far less ornate as well as looking quite sharp from where Sora was standing. Joe was right, there was little chance they could climb over. There was nothing they could grab onto as there was only one horizontal bar to grab onto and that was near the very top, and there were no other possible handholds. Even if they managed to get a boost there was a danger they could seriously hurt themselves. Sora was willing to take that risk as at least then there was something of a decent chance of surviving. However, once again the marine commander caught her eye.

The man had ordered his soldiers to fan out and form a semi-circle, protecting the civilians from harm while he and his second in command were crouched at the bottom of a segment of fence and for some reason he had made sure that everyone including the civilians were a good thirty feet from where he and the Captain were crouched. Sora could not see what it was they were doing, but she managed to overhear snippets of what they were saying.

"Quickly Barnes… not much time?" the Major grunted and he fumbled around with something.

"Isn't this a little dangerous sir?" the Captain replied worriedly. His voice was low so Sora had to strain her ears to hear him.

"Too slow… need to get out quick." came the Major's muffled response.

"What are they doing?" Matt asked, his attention taken away from the bloody violence and toward the two officers.

"I'm not sure." Sora muttered her response.

Another few seconds passed by in a blur, the redheaded girl feeling the pressure building upon them, her head feeling heavier as the stress continued to build. Amid the tense chaos, she noticed that she was hearing gunfire less and less. Turning to face the defenders, her eyes were met with the sight of half a dozen marines no longer firing their weapons, but fighting hand-to-hand. Some were using their guns to club the undead while others had unsheathed their combat knives and were stabbing and slicing vigorously at their ravenous opponents.

"OK, we're good!" came a yell from behind.

Sora turned to see that the Major and Captain Barnes had backed away from the fence and what they had been hastily working on was now in plain sight. What they had done was set up a cluster of eight or nine grenades at the base of the metal spokes. She could not see exactly, but it appeared that they had thread a thin piece of rope through the pins so that they could all be pulled at once. Her eyes widened as she took in the sight before her.

"Um, guys…" Sora stammered, but the Major's shout drowned her out.

"Everybody hit the deck!" he bellowed while the Captain repeated what he said in rather poor Japanese. Their point was made though.

Startled, everybody flinched and threw themselves on the ground. Sora followed suit and covered her head with her arms, nervously peeking up to see what would happen.

Satisfied that everyone was on the ground and at a safe distance, the Major yanked the rope and dove for cover. There were many simultaneous pings as the grenade pins were all pulled out at once. The sound was almost comical to Sora and she might have laughed had she not known what would follow.

There was a rumble, followed by a cloud of smoke blown rapidly outward. This was accompanied by a deafening blast that shook the air. There was a ringing in her ears, a high pitched hum that sounded like a musical triangle, only extreme and violent in nature.

Sora looked up again. Everything was in clear focus, but the ringing made everything seem slower to her, and the shouts she was hearing were almost undetectable from out of the background hum. Strangely, it was almost peaceful. No screaming, no gunfire, just the ringing engulfing all of her senses. But as the ringing died down everything began to speed up again, and the chaos returned.

The marines were already on their feet and were marshalling the civilians towards the sizeable hole that had been created in the fence. Sora raised herself sluggishly to her knew, not yet fully reoriented. Looking back, she saw the Americans still fighting off the undead, but the brief moment where they had needed to take cover had cost them. Two or three had been overpowered, more ripped flesh and gushing blood, and several others had also run out of ammunition and were now fighting hand-to-hand. The twenty to twenty-five left standing were either continuing to fight or had moved back to help the civilians.

Sora moved to get to her feet, but she was helped by an unknown pair of hands. Turning her face up to see who had assisted her, she was met by the face of the American Major.

"C'mon miss, let's get you out of here." he said gruffly.

Sora thanked him quickly before another pair of hands grabbed her by the shoulders. She whipped around and came face to face with Tai, whose brown eyes conveyed a sense of worry and urgency.

"Sora, are you OK." he questioned, nearly blurting out his words too fast for her to understand.

"I'm fine Tai, let's go." she replied hurriedly, her senses now fully back in order.

It appeared that she and Tai were among the last of the civilians out as most had either ducked through the hole in the fence or were waiting to get through while a few soldiers had also passed through to the outside to cover them. Matt, Joe and Izzy were among those waiting to pass to the other side, with Mimi just starting to slip out. Before Tai and Sora got close to them, however, there was a shout from Captain Barnes who was helping Mimi and an older woman through the fence.

"Sir, they're onto us!" he yelled, pointing to the outside of the park.

Undead had started to file towards the opening from both sides, leaving very few gaps for the survivors to run through.

"Son of a bitch!" the Major bellowed when he saw their new predicament, "Just run – nobody wait for anyone, just go!"

"Fucking Daemon!" Tai grunted as the frenzy began and it suddenly became every man for himself.

When Tai and Sora came up to the fence, the others had already passed through it. The four of them were waiting on the other side, but Sora did not want them to wait.

"Go! We'll catch up!" she yelled at them.

For once they simply trusted her word and started off. Only Joe hesitated, but Izzy grabbed his arm and dragged him off.

As the last bullets were fired and all the soldiers had switched to fighting with knives and hands, Tai and Sora slipped through the fence. Sora looked back through at the Americans but Captain Barnes urged them away.

"Go kids, before you're cut off, we can handle ourselves!" he ordered as he too pulled out his combat knife and running to join his comrades still inside the park.

Tai and Sora, accepting that all they could do was run, turned and chased after their four friends who were still in site and were moving quickly towards a small side street.

As Joe, Mimi and Izzy ran on, Matt stopped at the corner and beckoned furiously to Tai and Sora. Before they could reach him, however, a half dozen undead moved between them and the side street the others had run into.

"Shit!" Sora screamed as she saw their path blocked.

"Tai! Sora!" Matt yelled, beginning to back up as some of the thralls began to move toward him at a fast shuffle.

"Matt just go, we'll find another way!" Tai shouted back.

The pair did not wait for a reply as the undead moving towards them began to break into a run. Seeing a dark alleyway in the other direction as their only option, Tai and Sora sprinted towards it with Daemon's minions hot on their tail.

They entered the unlit crevasse between two tall office block, and were met with only shadows and silhouettes in the darkness. They moved swiftly, but their pursuers were out for blood. The time for running would soon be over.

* * *

><p>Toshiko Takenouchi sat in silence as she watched the helicopters that had transported her to safety disappear into the distance, on their way back into the city. They had taken her to a medical ship, part of a US naval task force. The six younger Digidestined were off on other parts of the ship, but she had chosen to isolate herself.<p>

Slowly, she looked down at her palm where she had been clutching a small, blue-white object. Sora's Digivice sat lifelessly in her hand. While usually very light, it felt to Toshiko as if she were trying to hold up a boulder. The weight of the Digivice mirrored the heaviness of her heart.

She had picked it up before she had left her home. She had intended to pass it to her daughter, in case she needed it. She had meant to do this, but fear had stayed her hand.

The Digivice represented to her everything that her daughter had done, everything she had been and everything she had become. It was a mark of the journey that Sora had embarked on when she was just a young girl at summer camp, and it was the path she still walked.

"Please come back to me Sora…" Toshiko whispered soulfully, looking out across the ocean to Odaiba just as the sun began to rise behind her.


	15. Chapter 15: New Dawn (Part 1)

**Long time no see. The final chapter is turning out to be longer than I anticipated, so I'm splitting it into two parts. The other will be up by mid next week. Just to respond to reviews from the last chapter (or since I last posted at least):**

**Neon765: The zombies are really just a backdrop. My focus is on the characters because I really like getting inside their heads and trying (as best as I can) to translate them to my own style. Plus I know it's pretty hard to make it all about the zombies in this day and age when they're done to death. Thanks for your kind words.**

**nerdxx3: Hope I can deliver :)**

**Sombra: Your hopes for a finished story are close at hand, my friend.**

**bluecapen: I'm glad you like it and I hope that my writing proficiency only gets better from here on out.**

**Thanks also to Vigatus and Aizawa Li Syaoran Vessalius for reviewing. Thanks also to bluecapen, patriots12, Sombra and Mimatoxxx for favouriting/following. So here we go – part 1.**

"Tai, c'mon! Hurry!" Sora yelled, grabbing the boy's wrist and pulling him level with her as they ran down the dark alleyway from their pursuers.

Despite the fact she was exhausted from running and lack of sleep, the redheaded girl was running faster than she ever had before in her life. Adrenaline coursed through her veins. Every one of her muscles was jolted into constant action, like a shock of electricity hitting her head to toe. Terror and exhilaration infected her in equal amounts. She would resist the fate another had slated for her and her loved ones until the very end.

That end seemed to be getting closer and closer. Above the thuds of Tai's and her feet and the heaving of their laboured breaths, there was a screeching that chilled them to the bone. And this screeching did not come from the ravenous mob that was behind them.  
>"The hell is…" Tai began to say but trailed off when he saw the other end of the alley.<p>

What they thought was their one exit from the darkened chasm between the two office blocks had been clear up until that point. But that was no longer true. A group of undead came bolting around the corner and charged relentlessly toward the pair, smelling blood and fear on the air and seeing their long sought after prey before them.

"No way!" Sora exclaimed with disbelief, not wanting to accept the cruel reality that had materialised before her.

Skidding to a halt, the two teenagers spun around, looking frantically for any possible means of escape from what was surely a certain and terrible death. After a split second, Tai cried out, extending his arm toward a spot not far in front of them, shrouded in the darkest shadow.

"There, a door!" he shouted.

Sora needed no invitation as she grabbed Tai's wrist once more and dashed towards what was now their only way out. Crashing through the door, the undead hot on their heels, they found themselves in the back of what must have been a restaurant or café, one of the business oriented ones that one often found beneath an office block. To their left was what looked like a freezer room and on their right was the kitchen, which led out to the main seating area.

Without thinking, they both made a move to go through the kitchen. Darting between the stained metallic benches and dirty looking stovetops, Tai and Sora wasted no time reaching the main floor. They looked then for the door to get them back out onto the street, but were met with the sight of undead clawing against the glass of the front windows and door. As soon as they saw the two teenagers, their clawing turned to smashing.

"Fuck!" Sora shouted, earning growls from their original pursuers, who were now making their way through the kitchen towards their targets.

"Great, now what do we do?" Tai questioned frantically, turning swiftly from the monsters out front to those inside.

As the glass of the front windows began to crack and the entrance door smashed open, Sora turned one-eighty degrees, towards the back corner and saw only one option.

"Door!" she yelled simply and grabbed Tai, this time by the collar, and made one last frantic dash for what she hoped was safety. She had no idea where this door led to, but the last unknown entry had, temporarily, saved their lives and taking this chance was better than making a stand in an open room.

Reaching it in just a few seconds, Sora wrenched the door open and dashed inside. She heard the door slam behind her as Tai threw it closed. They quickly realised what they had just run into. It looked to be the manager's office, cramped, stuffy and sparsely equipped, with merely a desk, a chair and a filing cabinet standing in the corner at a little over six feet. Most import, however, was the lack of any other ways in or out besides the door they had just frantically stormed through.

As the first banging started on the other side of the door, the pair looked at each other and nodded. Tai went straight for the filing cabinet, tipping it with an echoing thud and pushing it in front of the doorway. Sora, meanwhile, grabbed a hold of the desk and pushed it to the doorway, the scraping of which on the floor making her grit her teeth. This added more weight to their makeshift barricade. With one last exertion, Sora then joined Tai in returning the filing cabinet to its standing position to cover the whole door.

With the cabinet now blocking the doorway entirely, the slamming of undead hands on the other side was muffled, but still ominously present. Sora and Tai cared little, however. Caught in semi darkness, they fumbled around, looking for something to light the room. Eventually, the ceiling light flashed on with an industrial brilliance that could only be appreciated in such a time of need. Sora turned her head to see Tai with his hand on a light switch.

"Huh." Tai mumbled simply, "I'm surprised the power's still on."

"Must be a backup generator or something." Sora breathed an exhausted reply.

She could not manage to stand anymore. After so much action, now that she had stopped a wave of tiredness had crashed over her and she quickly succumbed to its insidious grasp. She stumbled back into the wall and slid down to a seated position on the cold, tiled floor.

Sora closed her eyes, not wanting to sleep but barely having enough energy to keep them open. She only mustered the strength to do so when she felt Tai slide down the wall right next to her. Neither said a word for the first few minutes they sat there.

Now that she was finally at rest, Sora was able to think again. What had happened to her mother? To her friends? What would happen to her? Questions and what-ifs filled her head, a backlog of thoughts that the adrenaline had pushed from her mind until now. The faint banging from behind the filing cabinet was the only thing that reminded her that time had not stopped, that an army of death lay just outside the door.

The one certainty, and the one source of comfort she had now was the person next to her. Through it all, she and Tai had managed to stay together, and now it seemed that it would be that way until the end.

"Looks like there'll be no more running." Tai said softly, apparently following the same train of thought she was.

"No." she responded with a small tone of sadness, adding, "I never thought it would end like this, y'know."

Looking over to Tai, she saw him smile. This was not the confident grin, the mischievous smirk or the hearty smile she would usually expect from him. All she could see from the upward curvature of his lips was a calm acceptance. There was no point in denying that they were backed into a corner. It was only a matter of time.

"I can't think of anyone else I rather be with right now." he told her warmly, and she returned his sincere, but sad smile.

"Neither can I."

* * *

><p>"Are they still behind us!?"<p>

"Well they aren't stopping for a breather, I'll tell you that much!" came Matt's frantic reply.

Izzy put his head down and squeezed his eyes shut in an attempt to block out the rising sharpness in his chest. It had been five minutes since they had been separated from Tai and Sora and still they could not shake their pursuers. Izzy's heart was racing, blood coursing through his veins faster than it had in years. Every breath was an effort, a strained wheeze that sounded like something was slowly strangling him. He had to stop; anything to slow down, to catch his breath.

"Izzy move! You have to keep up!" Joe pleaded with his friend, grabbing his sleeve and pulling him level with the other three.

"I can't… too much. Ha- have to s- stop." Izzy gasped through his laboured breaths.

"Izzy, you stop you die!" Matt exclaimed.

Gritting his teeth, Izzy pressed on. His legs were like jelly, so numb that he felt little sensation from them. It was like they were taking each stride automatically, no longer responding to his mind which screamed for them to stop.

As each second passed with growing agony, Izzy felt a growing pressure in his ears. All sound was becoming more and more muffled. The screams and shouts of Joe, Mimi and Matt were becoming unintelligible to him. He could have sworn that now there were new voices too, but he could not muster the strength to lift his head and see. All his energy was focused on his legs and his lungs, everything else was mere details.

When he heard a loud crack, he thought he had imagined a gunshot. It was only when a flurry of those same sounds broke through the barriers of his energy sapped mind did he realise that the sounds were very real. Feeling Joe, who still held his sleeve, slow down, Izzy felt his legs cease turning and stop still. Every inch of his body trembled. It took him several seconds to realise that he had sunk to his knees. As he took in more and more breaths his hearing returned and the voices became more distinct.

"About time we got the jump on these bastards." a tired but soft voice said, followed by the clear sound of someone spitting onto the ground.

Looking up, which took an enormous effort, Izzy's eyes were met by the image of what he guessed must be another American marine. The man, a sergeant judging by the chevrons on the side of his helmet, quickly turned to a younger looking soldier with a steely expression.

"Gibbs, don't let me catch you spraying your weapon again or I'll take your rifle and leave you with a knife. Understand?" he said smoothly but sternly to the man.

Receiving a nod, the sergeant turned back to their group, which Izzy now noticed had swelled to twice its size with another four people Izzy recognised from the park, obviously having joined them while he was transfixed on running from the undead. Thinking of the monsters that hunted them, Izzy turned his body to see that the group that had been chasing them were all strewn across the road in pools of darkened blood.

Before he could do anything else, Izzy felt himself being lifted roughly to his feet by two pairs of arms. Seeing Matt and Mimi on either side of him Izzy looked to the American sergeant who was now ordering the half dozen men with him toward a building at the end of the darkened street they now found themselves on.

"Alpha squad, get these civilians into the building with the others." he commanded, his calm voice pierced by a palpable sense of urgency.

Before he knew it, Izzy found himself climbing a set of stairs in the building, which seemed to be a small vacant office block. He was able to gather enough energy to climb them unassisted, but Matt had remained behind him, wary that his legs might give out.

All those climbing the steps were silent. The only sound that could be heard over their echoing footsteps was the slamming, locking and barricading of the entrance door, followed by the more rapid footfalls of the two soldiers who had taken up the rear and blocked off the path of any following undead.

After a minute and a half of ascending up the dark and morbidly silent stairwell the group reached the rooftop where they found another half dozen civilians and four other soldiers, one of whom had his arm fixed in a makeshift sling and was wielding only a pistol as opposed to the rifles his comrades were carrying.

The roof was completely open, with the stairwell entrance being the only structure of any kind. Feeling his tiredness overcome him, Izzy trudged heavily, each footstep falling with a dull thud, over to the edge of the rooftop, where he sat down, leaning up against the waist high wall that ran all around the rim of the square building top. A wave of physical relief spilled over him as his muscles relaxed completely. He felt like every drop of energy had been squeezed from him, leaving him drained and flaccid. It was only the sergeant's gentle but commanding voice that roused his attention from the void of tiredness and relief that he had been sinking into.

"Menendez, do an ammo count – make sure we haven't run dry yet. Chang, check on our new arrivals and make sure they're all OK." he directed calmly, clearly not pressed by any present danger as he had been on the street.

It was then that Izzy caught sight of Mimi and Matt approaching the American. Izzy was well within earshot, so he did not bother getting up.

"Excuse me sir…" Matt started, but the sergeant interrupted.

"Hey kid, were you with Major Compton's unit?" he asked, quickly, suggesting a curiosity motivated by both fear and concern.

Izzy saw Matt hesitate before answering cautiously. "If you mean the one in the park, then yes." he told the sergeant forlornly.

"All of you guys we just picked up… are you all that's left?" the man queried tentatively, as if he did not want to know the answer.

"We don't know. When those things broke in everybody split up and ran for it." Mimi answered for Matt.

"OK… thanks anyway you two." the sergeant replied evenly, although he was unable to hide his disappointment at the answer he had received.

"Actually sir, we wanted to ask you for a favour." Matt jumped in before the American could divert his attention elsewhere.

"Kid, if this is about looking for someone in this mess then I'm sorry but the answer is no." he responded with a sigh, like he had been asked that question already that night, or early morning as the sun could now be seen peeking over the top of Odaiba's skyline.

Izzy's breath caught in his throat when he heard the sergeant's answer. Despite his body's screams to stay put, he forced himself to his feet and made his way swiftly but shakily over to them, catching Joe moving as well in the corner of his eye. Izzy had not really thought that the Americans would agree to go out searching for two people in a quagmire of flesh-eating beasts, but that did nothing to absolve his fears.

"But-" Mimi piped up, but was quickly silenced.

"Look miss, I know it hurts, but I can't afford to send my guys out there. We've already taken casualties and we're almost out of ammunition." he told her as gently as possible, "Believe me, if the situation was different, I'd be trying to help the rest of my unit and whoever else I could find. Right now, I just want to get my soldiers and you civilians out of this shit. Now you all stay put, because I'm not gonna have any one of you running of on some suicide rescue mission."

With that he turned away from them and approached one of the other marines, who appeared to be the radio operator of the team. Izzy, Matt, Mimi and Joe were all left standing alone, a look of defeat dawning on each of their faces.

The four Digidestined trudged to the spot where Izzy had been sitting only a few moments before. No one said a word as they each stared into space. Many things were turning over in Izzy's mind as he sat there, but Tai and Sora kept resurfacing again and again, not leaving him alone, refusing to give him peace.

"If only we could have been faster." Joe mumbled in frustration, "If we were, then-"

"Then some other shit would have happened and we would have lost someone else." Matt grumbled resentfully, cutting Joe off.

"Don't say that Matt, we haven't lost them. They're out there somewhere." Mimi said, shocked.

"I know, I know. It's just hard to stay optimistic right now." Matt replied apologetically.

Although he was not able to see properly, Izzy was sure that there were a few tears falling softly down Matt's face. Hope was running thin.

Izzy's head was pounding with all the likely possibilities, and none of them were good. Everything was pointing to the fact that Tai and Sora were either dead or soon would be. He gritted his teeth. This was one of the few times that he hated rationality, when sense and logic pointed only to the answers that he could not bear to accept.

"At least we're safe, I guess." Joe offered, but with little confidence.

They all nodded mournfully. From where they sat they could all hear the American sergeant on the radio not far away.

"This is Sergeant Kowalski, Alpha 2-1. Yeah, I have civilians and wounded and need evac ASAP on my current position at the following coordinates…"

* * *

><p>A crunch of sand followed his every footstep, his eyes flickered back and forth and every breath he took was soft and silent. He had expected to be attacked as soon as he made it back out into the open, yet somehow he remained untouched after several minutes of his slow patrol of the Dark Ocean's beach. Wargreymon grumbled to himself. If Daemon had been so eager to strike before, where was he now?<p>

The near silence was beyond eerie. Wargreymon could only hear himself amongst the dense fog that blanketed the beach and his apparent solitude heightened his suspicion. Where was the evil Digimon? Was it possible that he had already found the others in their cave hideout? The warrior shuddered at the thought. Consciously he gave the possibility little credence, but the doubt had already implanted itself. He had to find Daemon quickly and end this ordeal before it dragged on any longer.

Wargreymon spun around, frustrated by his failure to find and destroy their foe, but his aggravation turned to curiosity after his eyes were met by a familiar, but still intriguing sight. As he turned to face the cliff again, Wargreymon spotted the one thing that managed to seem out of place in the entire Dark Ocean, the same thing that had caught all of the partner Digimons' attention when they had first arrived in that accursed dimension. Up on the cliff edge was the same churning, surging mass of purple and black mist that pulsed ominously with crimson flame and electricity.

Wargreymon stood and watched the mass, remembering how it had disappeared the first time mere seconds after Daemon had greeted them on the beach. The only reason he could see for it to have returned was that Daemon had retreated to the cliff edge and remained there still. Wargeymon decided that it would be best to travel immediately to the top of the rock face, bringing the fight to Daemon. However, his plans were stalled before he could act.

The churning mists dissipated rapidly, vanishing from their perch on the cliff. As the last circling flame flickered and died, removing the last vestiges of colour from the dead realm, the fog around Wargreymon appeared to thicken and began to whirl around him, like the dull haze itself was stalking and circling the armoured Digimon, waiting for the right moment to make its move. Above all, however, a dark presence that had not been there only moments before was apparent; Wargreymon could smell it on the air.

"So you're finally out of hiding." he murmured.

His response was a flash of fire from his right that he easily deflected. After half a dozen more flaming bolts the barrage ceased and there was deathly silence, everything lay still until the enemy's voice pierced the air.

"When I left you there were twelve and now I return to only one…" Daemon's voice rang out, a venomous hiss that sent a chill down Wargreymon's spine, "Where are those weaklings? Where have the little cowards run off to?"

"Heh, that's a bit rich coming from you." Wargreymon spat, no longer in the mood for Daemon's games.

"Tell me where you sent them." Daemon demanded calmly, but there was an edge in his voice suggesting he was very close to the end of his tether.

"The Dark Ocean is a big place, they could be anywhere right now." Wargreymon replied evasively, "Why don't you show yourself and maybe I'll consider telling you."

Wargreymon's retort was met by a thundering roar of rage, accompanied by another flaming shot from the fog bank to his left. Daemon had had enough it seemed.

"Tell me where they are you insolent waste of data!" the dark sorcerer screamed wildly from somewhere out in the haze.

"Not on your life!" Wargreymon roared back, "Now face me or I'll bombard this entire beach!"

"Remember what happened last time fool?! Your random, clumsy blasting isn't going to work. Even if you destroy this entire beach, I'll be long gone!" Daemon seethed.

Wargreymon lost his temper and charged up a powerful energy attack, releasing it out in a random direction, and it was followed by another, then another. Soon half the beach was lit up by the brilliant explosions of pure energy, glowing as intensely as a belt of stars around the spot where Wargreymon stood. The warrior breathed heavily from the strain of his flurry of attacks. His eyes darted from left to right, observing the effect of his barrage.

The falling sand in the aftermath sounded as rain, the gentle patter it made as it returned to the cratered ground was the only sound that could be heard, the ocean even remaining silent as the grave. For a few moments all was still and Wargreymon continued to scan his surroundings like a hawk, noting every sound, every movement, every vibration. He waited. There was nothing.

Suddenly a fiery blast struck him from behind, snaking around the Brave Shield he wore on his back and licking at his sides and unprotected arms. The shot was too weak to do any real damage, but the shock of it made Wargreymon stumble forwards. He whipped his head around, looking for where it had come from. All he heard then was a hacking, malicious laugh that reverberated all around him.

"Better luck next time…" came Daemon's sickening voice, dripping with malice and contempt.

Another flash of flame flew at him from another angle, but this one he easily parried. But again he had failed. His foe was too cowardly. He was out of ideas.

"I have better things to do than play these stupid games with you." Daemon chided mockingly, "Perhaps I should finish that filth you call the Digidestined first. I know where they are already anyway."

"NO!" Wargreymon roared, turning every which way, hoping against hope to see dark Digimon, but to no avail.

One last flaming strike flew at the mega level, which he slashed angrily with his claws. He spun around, again looking for the attacker.

"You coward! You-" Wargreymon bellowed, but stopped when his eyes fell on something.

It was small, just a flicker. It was something that could easily be missed, something that had been missed up until now. A small sputter of sickly purple floated in the air for a few short seconds before disappearing. It was faint, but Wargreymon knew it had been there.

The look had been familiar. In fact it was something he had seen thousands of times before, in battle and in the death of others, friend and foe. It took him a few seconds to realise what it really was that he had seen, but once he had, Wargreymon felt a renewed surge of confidence and hope. He knew what to do now.

"Well thank you Dagomon." the dragon warrior murmured as he leaped into the air and flew toward the cliff edge where the wicked mass of purple and black fog was already reforming upon Daemon's return to the summit.

* * *

><p>Another flight of helicopters buzzed overhead, zooming at high speed over the fleet on their way to the mainland. Many survivors stopped what they were doing to watch the great machines hurtle through the sky, hoping that, just maybe, the rescuers would find one of their loved ones. However, this commotion was not enough to draw one girl away from her station.<p>

Kari knelt by T.K.'s side as he lay on a stretcher that one of the medics had set out for him on the deck. The ship that they were on already had its medical bay overcrowded with the injured. T.K. was stable and had not been deemed serious enough to need the on-board medical facilities. He had been examined and fitted with a neck brace by one of the doctors, who had said that the injury did not look permanent, so long as it was not aggravated. After the check up, which had lasted all of three and a half minutes, the doctor had left and Kari had returned to her spot beside T.K.

Despite her fears and concerns for her family and friends, she had not forgotten what she had promised to do. She had sworn not just to her brother, but to herself to be with T.K. for however long this nightmare lasted, no matter what.

Looking down on the blond boy's face, Kari could see everything that she loved, everything she desired and everything she feared all at once. His rounded face and thin lips marked the face she yearned to see everyday, the face she did not wish to go a day without. Running her hand gently through his shaggy hair she thought of the feelings that, just a few days before, she had had no idea how to express. Every touch, every smile, every word and every look had been that between friends when she would have given anything for something more to have existed between them.

But then came her confusion. What had they become? Had her fears been founded on the truth? What T.K. had said, or rather what he had not been able to say, while they were at the convention centre had left a weight on her mind. She now knew that he would not have been rejecting her in any way, and she had been rash to have thought that he might have wanted to. But her reaction, she knew, must have done the same to him in kind. What would T.K. have thought of her all of a sudden going cold on him, especially when they needed each others' support the most? She had no idea, but it would have to wait until he regained consciousness and recovered.

Feeling a light tap on her shoulder, Kari twisted around to see Davis and Cody behind her. She smiled weakly at the pair but refrained from speaking, waiting to hear what they wanted.

The only way Kari could describe Cody as he stood was tired. The youngest Digidestined looked as if he would keel over at any moment and be fast asleep. His skin was far paler than normal and deep grey bags hung under his eyes. It looked as if he, out of everyone, had gotten the least sleep over the past few days.

Davis looked rather similar, only he somehow appeared to have some energy left to spare. In his eyes there was a fire that Kari had not seen in some time, a drive to pursue a duty that kept him going well beyond his limits. It was Davis who spoke.

"Are you both OK?" he asked and Kari was struck by the hollowness of his voice, by the lack of emotion that contrasted so sharply with the person she saw before her.

All she could do in response was nod, a nod which was promptly returned. With that, Davis tried to add a smile, but Kari was unsure whether it reassured or worried her. In it she could see the old Davis trying desperately to break through a veil of twisted emotions and experiences that had accumulated since it had all began and that he was trying hard to suppress. Somehow he was holding it all together and Kari could not help but think that at least he was managing to stay calm, especially considering how he had been before they had been airlifted out.

Before Kari could say anything he turned away and headed off.

"Alright, I'll be back soon." he said vacantly over his shoulder.

Cody moved to follow, but Kari stopped him briefly.

"How is Yolei." she asked gently. She would have been with the purple haired girl herself at that very moment had it not been for T.K.

Cody looked sombre. "She was with Ken for a little bit, but she went off on her own not too long ago. I think she just wanted some alone time." he told her worriedly.

Cody and Yolei had always been close, having lived in the same building for so many years. Kari knew that he was just as concerned for the girl as she was, but having lost his father some years ago she also accepted that he could understand what she was feeling much better than most others, Kari included, could hope to.

"If you see her… just tell her that…" Kari stumbled, unsure of what to put in her message, but Cody just smiled.

"I'll tell her that you're thinking about her." he assured her.

That had not exactly been what Kari had meant, but if she was honest with herself there was little else that she really could say, so she simply nodded and thanked Cody, who quickly ran off after Davis.

Looking back to T.K., Kari exhaled heavily. Her focus was now solely on him.

Running her hand again through his hair, she thought she saw his eyelids flicker, if only for a second.

"T.K.?" she whispered softly with trepidation, her face mere inches from his.

When she received no response she pulled back, thinking that it was probably just a random twitch. Kari closed her eyes as she leaned back and delved deep into thought, the status of her relationship with T.K. being foremost in her mind. As her thoughts returned to the police station, and how terrified she had been when one of the monsters had fallen on top of him, she felt a light squeeze on her left hand. At first she did nothing, too lost in thought to truly notice, even when the grip became firmer. However, her eyes flew open when she heard her name.

"Uh…K-Kari…" came a dry, weak croak from down beside her.

"T.K.!" Kari yelped in surprise, but also a barely concealed joy and she instantly bore down on him and made her best attempt at giving him a hug, mindful of his neck and head.

She was almost exploding with things she wanted to say to him but, remembering his confusion from the last time he had been awake, she decided it would be best to see if he had improved since.

"T.K… Do you remember what happened?" she asked gently, speaking slowly so as not to overwhelm him.

"Uh… one of those things came at me… then… then I couldn't see you, and-and…" he stuttered, his expression strained.

Kari sighed. He seemed to have improved a little, but he was still distressed. Deciding it would be best not to press him, Kari laid and hand on his shoulder and tried to soothe him.

"It's alright, I'm here." she consoled.

She could feel a knot in her lower chest as she watched him breathe heavier than normal. He stared straight into her eyes and the knot tightened, falling lower to her stomach as she worried more and more about his seeming discomfort.

After a few seconds he shifted his eyes away, staring straight up at the slowly lightening sky. What surprised her was what had looked strangely like shame on his face. Something was wrong with him and the longer she went without knowing the more she felt like she was being choked as the knot rose and tightened again. Against her better judgement, she tried to get an answer from him.

"T.K. what's wrong?" she questioned as gently as she could, not bothering to hide the anxiety in her voice.

For a moment he failed to turn his eyes to her and remained silent, his eyes hazy and his jaw clenched hard.

"T.K. please, talk to me." Kari pleaded with him, her voice cracking.

The boy finally returned his warm gaze toward her, but with a look of sadness flowing from his normally clear blue eyes.

"Kari… please don't hate me." he whispered, barely loud enough for her to hear.

Her eyes widened in shock.

"Wha- T.K…. T.K. I could never-" she stammered but he cut her off.

"Please… let us still be friends. I-I… that's all I want, I-" he rambled, his breathing becoming rougher and his eyes noticeably becoming watery.

"T.K., you're still confused. I could never stop being your friend, why would you think that? You know I wouldn't want to live my life without you." she insisted, doing her best to calm him.

Gradually, his breathing slowed and his expression became more composed. Yet still, the look of shame that Kari had seen before rested firmly on his face.

"I thought since… since you didn't feel the same way, I-I mean how could you, b-but…" he struggled to make sense and his words only served to confuse her.

"Wait. Feel the same way as what? T.K. what do you mean?" she questioned, desperate to get to the bottom of whatever had him so distressed.

"Bu- the convention centre… you didn't… and then at the police station, you were…" T.K. began rambling again, his eyes darting from Kari to the sky and back.

The girl was considering calling a doctor to calm him down. T.K. was starting to scare her with how quickly he was switching between calm and upset and it was obvious he had not yet fully recovered. However, even through his muddled speech, Kari understood that whatever he was trying to say was of the utmost importance to him.

Given the few clues she had, Kari tried to deduce what T.K. was so wound up about, but her attempts at interpreting his garbled words were stalled every time his eyes fell on her. In them she saw pain, confusion, but above all fear. As he lay there, unsure of what was happening and restricted by the neck brace, Kari felt a familiar but unwelcome ache in her chest. To see him like this was for her the same as having the happiness of her own life wither and be sucked away. She could not sit there much longer and watch him like this.

"T.K., T.K. I'm here. Just tell me what you meant. It'll be OK, I promise." she soothed, choking up on the last sentence.

His eyes slowly stopped darting about and came to rest on her face. She saw his breathing slow once again and for a fleeting moment he lay silent. After a few seconds she saw his lips move and above the litany of background noises, she heard a soft mumbling. She was not able to understand what it was he had said, but as she continued to look upon his face she was surprised to see his cheeks flash a soft, but unmistakable red.

"T.K.? What did you say?" she asked cautiously, unsure of what to expect. What she heard next shocked her to her core.

"L-love you." he breathed simply, his eyes not moving, staying locked on hers.

Kari blanched when she heard this. There was no way she could have heard him right. Her heart had skipped a beat, her lungs had contracted and somewhere, at the back of her mind, she was crying with joy to have heard those words from him. But it was impossible, she thought. Life was too cruel to give her that for which she had yearned for so long. It just could not be real.

"T.K… T.K. you're still concussed… Y-you should p-probably get some more… rest, you don't know what you're saying." Kari uttered, trying her best to stay composed.

She did her best to tend to him but his arm shot out and grabbed hers, drawing her gaze back to his watery blue eyes.

"No Kari… I... love you." he said with such conviction that it was like he was professing the one true belief he held in this world, his eyes unblinking and his breathing quick but measured.

"Y-you love me?" Kari squeaked, seeing the sincerity and passion in his expression.

"For so… so long." T.K. replied.

Kari just sat there. She did not move, she barely blinked and hardly breathed. She was beyond doubt, yet it remained unreal to her. For so long she had prayed for this. Now that it had happened, she was unsure of what to do, what to say. It was T.K. who spoke instead.

"Tried to tell you before… Had to tell you… " he breathed, a look that closely resembled sadness dawning on his face, "I know… you probably don't… don't feel the same…"

Kari could contain herself no longer. She flung her arms around him, again careful of his neck and head, and let out a single, joyous sob into his chest. Then, lifting her head, she planted a quick, tender kiss on his cheek, mere millimetres from his mouth.

"How could I not feel the same?" she managed to say as a tidal wave of long bottled up emotion fell upon her and washed away the anxiety and longing that had weighed down on her for so long.

Where sadness had been only a few seconds before, a smile that radiated relief and ecstasy, like she had never before seen, dawned. His eyes lit up, glowing with the warmth that had infected her since the first time she had seen them. He opened his mouth to say something, but nothing came out.

Seeing him struggle for words, Kari quieted him and once more ran her hand through his hair. There was nothing else that needed to be said. She simply stayed there with him, basking in the one good thing that had happened to either of them in days. Despite the darkness the had surrounded them, the sunshine was growing again.

* * *

><p>Yolei stumbled around the deck. She was not looking for anything in particular, in fact she was more interested in losing something. She had strayed from Ken and he had not pursued, knowing better than to push her. For that she was grateful; how could she lose her pain when she found reminders of the life she had lived and the one she had lost in the people she was closest to?<p>

As she walked amongst the survivors who had been lucky enough to be evacuated, she found that getting rid of the ache at her core was much harder than she had hoped. Everywhere she looked was the same grief that plagued her. There was not a single person who had not lost someone, it seemed. Every face, even the outwardly cheerful ones, carried a burden. It was behind their eyes, something that could only be recognised by someone who felt it themselves, but once one saw it, it was unmistakeable.

The purple haired girl moved between the individuals and groups that littered the deck of the ship, searching aimlessly for some place away from all the suffering. She jumped when she felt a tug on her shirt.

Spinning around she came face to face with an American sailor who looked strained and tired.

"Do you speak English?" he asked politely.

"A little." Yolei replied in that language, eliciting a relieved smile from the man.

"Good, if I could ask a big favour of you." he continued, leading her over to a corner where a little boy sat, curled up and staring blankly into space, "I need you to look after this little guy, he's been through a lot."

Yolei looked down at the boy, who could not have been older than seven or eight. Even with their approach, he had not seemed to realise they were there. He simply continued to stare off, out to sea.

"His name is Haru. I'm not one hundred percent sure, but I think he lost both of his parents. We've been looking around for other relatives, but so far no luck." the sailor explained sadly.

Yolei glanced at the American. Why was he asking her? She was having enough trouble with her own grief, let alone trying to comfort a child she had never even met before.

As if in answer to her inner question, the man added, "I saw you walking around and you seem to have it together a little more than these other people."

Yolei thought he was crazy, but then she looked back at the boy. He was all alone. If his eyes were not open, she would have thought he was asleep and it was in those eyes she saw a familiar sight. She could grieve later. There was no way she could leave him, now that she had seen him.

"OK." she told the sailor, who quickly, but still graciously, thanked her and moved on, checking in on other survivors.

Taking a deep breath, Yolei sat down next to the boy, who still did not look up at her.

"Hi, I'm Yolei." she said gently, trying to be as friendly as she could.

Still there was no movement. The boy was still lost in his own world.

"You're Haru aren't you?" she pressed on, still receiving no answer.

Yolei sighed. She had not known what to expect, but she had hoped to at least get him talking. She was surprised when a soft little voice piped up from beside her.

"Are you here to look after me until they bring back my mum and dad?" he asked innocently.

Yolei's voice caught in her throat. She could now see he was looking up at her, his dark eyes shining with a sliver of hope. She had no idea whether and how the boy understood everything. What should she say? She started to panic but the look on his face made her stop. Putting on the most convincing smile she could, Yolei said the only thing she could bare to.

"Yes Haru, I'm here to watch out for you. 'Til this is over."


	16. Chapter 16: New Dawn (Part 2)

**Here's part 2 – enjoy.**

**Also thanks to Vigatus for reviewing the last part (haha, that would have been ironic), and to Akirachi for following.**

The echoing sounds of hell on earth had not died away. The moans of the horde below still climbed high into the early morning sky, and every so often there would be a scream as yet another fell to the infection. Sitting on the rooftop listening to it all, Matt Ishida was reaching the end of his tether. His friends were stuck out there somewhere, and he could think of little else as he waited with Mimi, Izzy and Joe for their evacuation from the city.

They had been on the rooftop for a little over fifteen minutes, but these minutes felt like hours. Matt was sure that the helicopter they were waiting on was barely a few minutes away as already a flight of a half dozen Black Hawks had flown past, no doubt off to rendezvous with another American unit that had called for them. Before long they would be leaving Odaiba, not to return until the infection had been eradicated. They had waited on the Digimon, but as the growls, screams and screeches continued to rise from below, their faith in the timely destruction of Daemon was waning.

It had even occurred to Matt that, maybe, Daemon's end would not spell the end of the nightmare. For all they knew the plague could live on beyond its master's destruction. All they had to go on was Gennai's explanation, which for Matt was not enough. Gennai had never actually been completely wrong before; even his most cryptic explanations and predictions had been true to some extent in the past. But the digital man had underestimated what Daemon was prepared to do to get his revenge, he had admitted it himself. The more Matt thought about it, the more he desired to leave his safety and take action.

The thought of Tai and Sora, hopelessly trapped out in the cold morning streets, fiercely, but futilely, resisting their fate, was a fixation in his mind. Beyond that, however, something else was bubbling beneath the surface. Every sound from the city below sent a shock up the back of Matt's neck. As the sensation reached his head, he felt blood rushing to his brain. He felt a hot pressure building inside his skull. Gritting his teeth, his blue eyes flashed with an old sensation he had not truly felt in years; hatred.

Pure hatred, fuelled by his anger and frustration, pulsed in his mind and through his veins. His fear of the walking dead had been replaced by the deepest loathing for them. In them he had once seen a remnant of humanity, something to pity. Now all he saw was the death and destruction they had caused. Daemon had created them, but he was off in some other world, one Matt had never seen and would probably never reach. Everything that had transpired was personified in the reanimated corpses of those whose lives had been so cruelly taken by the digital sorcerer's plague. His hatred was all for them. Every scream, every growl, every screech made him want to destroy as many of the things as he could find.

In truth, while Matt's abhorrence fuelled him, its virulence also scared him. Shaking his head furiously for a short moment, he tried to push it from his mind. Seeking to distract himself, he glanced at the other three to see how they were coping. Mimi was silent, staring off into space with a blank, unreadable expression set on her face. He had no idea exactly what was going on inside her head, but he was fairly certain he could make a good guess. Joe was fidgeting where he sat, unable to stay completely still. Casting his eyes downward, Matt could see the older teen playing around with piece of string he had found. Joe did not seem to be doing anything in particular with it, merely pulling it into random forms and patterns. Like Mimi, his expression was vacant.

Looking lastly at Izzy, who sat at the other end of their group, Matt was surprised by what he saw. The redhead, for some unfathomable reason, had pulled out his laptop and was silently tapping away at the keys with his eyes fixated on the screen. His expression was unreadable but, try as he might, Matt could find no trace of concern or worry in his face. Seeing Izzy like that, Matt felt the pressure of the blood rushing to his brain rise again. Why did he now have his head stuck back in his computer? What could be so important?

"Izzy, why the hell are you on that thing right now?" Matt asked as calmly and civilly as he could muster, and he was surprised by how well he was able to hide his anger.

"I've been messaging Gennai, trying to find out how close our Digimon are to finishing Daemon." Izzy replied tiredly, lifting his head to face Matt.

"Really? So what did he say?" Matt questioned further, his anger momentarily giving way to curiosity.

Izzy paused briefly before answering. "He says, as far as he can tell, Daemon is hiding from them and they haven't been able to track him down." he explained morosely.

Matt's anger rose again, not at Izzy, but out of pure frustration, exacerbated by his exhaustion and his indignation at what their enemy had done, not just to them, but to all of Japan. He had had enough. He needed to do something, to destroy something. The undead were roaming the streets; they were no longer living, no longer human. If he could bring down even a few of those things, then surely that would give all the innocent people caught in the city a better chance. Every one of Daemon's horde that fell would increase everyone else's chances of survival.

Matt slowly got to his feet. There was an odd pounding in his ears as he stood, blocking out the voices of those around him, like a distant drumbeat that still managed to drown everything else out. With each step he would see a flash, a memory. It was only from a few hours ago, from outside the police station. There was movement, a lot of movement, a flurry of legs and swinging arms. And there was a stick, a long piece of wood, moving through the air at high speed. The longer it swung, the redder it became, it was everywhere. With every flash, Matt was drawn in deeper. He wanted to do that again, to destroy the danger. Only then could his friends and family be safe, only then would it be over.

Suddenly his trance was broken by a hand placed roughly and hastily on his shoulder. Spinning around, Matt was faced with both Joe, to whom the hand belonged, and Mimi, both of whom seemed confused. Behind them, Matt could see Izzy putting his laptop away as he got up to join them.

"Matt! We said what are you doing? Couldn't you hear us or something?" Joe pressed him worriedly.

Matt shrugged him off lightly. He made sure not to be aggressive as he had no intention of alienating anyone.

"I'm going." Matt told them simply as Izzy found his way over to them.

"Going? What, down there?" Joe questioned incredulously, not even trying to hide his disbelief.

"I refuse to sit up here and listen to this." Matt said sternly, motioning his right arm to the edge of the roof, "I'm not gonna let those things keep destroying our home and killing everyone. Not without a fight."

"Matt you can't be serious!" Izzy exclaimed, his raised voice catching the attention of some of the others on the roof with them, "We're so close to getting out of here and your chances of surviving down there are completely negligible! Besides, it's not like the Americans will let you just waltz out of here."

"Maybe I don't care." Matt muttered apprehensively, so low that none of them fully understood what he had said.

"What was that?" Mimi replied, her eyes wide from what she thought she had heard.

"I said I can't let those things get away with this. There's half a city dead out there because of this virus, or whatever the hell it is!" Matt retorted, growing increasingly aggravated.

"Matt, they're just husks, I don't even think they have the capacity to feel pain let alone understand any type of punishment!" Izzy said, doing his best to rationalise the problem and deter Matt from doing something stupid.

No matter what was said, though, Matt could still remember the violence of just a few hours prior. It had been the first and only time he had fought back and, for lack of a better term, killed one of Daemon's minions. He could still feel the rush, and through the horror of the blood and the disgust of seeing the broken body as he had stood solemnly over it, he had still felt he had done something right.

Looking away from his friends, Matt looked around the rooftop for something he could use to fight, anything that could bring down the undead. After a moment, his eyes fell on a loose brick. Deciding that that would be enough for the time being, Matt moved over to it and picked it up. He turned back to the other three Digidestined.

"I'm going, so if there's anything else you-" Matt tried to tell them, but was cut off when Mimi strode up to him and, quick as a flash and without warning, slapped him hard across the face. The sound reverberated out through the night sky and was followed by Mimi's seething but whispered response.

"Matt Ishida, I don't know what the hell has gotten into you, but I will not let you put yourself in danger like this!" she hissed, her eyes burning as she stared straight into him.

"Mimi, I-" Matt tried to argue, but Mimi was having none of it.

"I don't care why. Two of us are missing out there and we don't need you to make it three." her expression softened and anger dissipating, leaving only concern, "Matt, this is just your anger talking, if you calm down you'll see. And Izzy's right, even if going down there was the right thing to do, the soldiers wouldn't let you."

Matt's whole world stopped. He sat on a knife's edge. Within him, there was some innate desire to fight, to take back his home and his life, to avenge what had been lost. But at the same time, stepping back, he knew how foolish it all was. Why was he so hell bent on fighting? Ever since the crisis had begun, the violence, the hurt and the death had disturbed him less and less. Now there was a part of him that wanted it, to feel it, to live it. The urge was undeniable, but its presence terrified him to no end.

Losing his nerve, Matt sunk to the ground. He covered his face with his hands, his breathing laboured. After a few moments he dropped his arms, using them to prop himself up as he leaned forward, still breathing harshly. His mind was conflicted and spinning with contradiction. He felt trapped. The more he yearned to leave and take out as many undead as possible, the more he understood this to be folly. The pressure in his head had turned to an ache and was pulsating throughout his skull. He just wanted it to stop.

Yelling out in frustration, Matt grabbed the brick off the ground where he had left it. Spinning around where he knelt, he hurled it with all his might. The brick easily cleared the edge of the roof and fell down to the street below. Everything was quiet for a few seconds before a far off, near inaudible crunch could be heard as the hard, brown block smashed into the street below.

Everyone else on the roof was eying Matt and he could feel their stares upon him, but he did not care. He just knelt there, his gaze firmly fixed on the ground. Feeling the other three around him, he said the only thing that came to his mind.

"Fuck this. When will this shit be over?"

* * *

><p>The banging had not stopped since they had blocked off the room. It had been well over half an hour and Tai could have sworn he had heard a sharp cracking sound once or twice, muffled through the filing cabinet which covered the doorframe almost completely. No doubt the wood was slowly giving way against the tide of undead on the other side.<p>

Tai had prepared himself for the end. He was no longer afraid of death, not now that he had accepted that it was out of his hands – only the Digimon could save them now. But beyond that, there was still one thing that bothered him. There was one thing that he had kept hidden, and he was furiously debating with himself whether or not to finally set the truth free to the person to whom the revelation would mean most, for better or worse.

For years, Tai had been so scared of ruining his friendship with Sora to tell her how he truly felt about her, which he was now willing to recognise as love. But, now that they had reached the point where he probably did not have much left to lose, he was conflicted as he ever had been. On the likelihood that she did not return his feelings, they were so close to the end that he would not have to face any great length of time without the closest relationship in his life. Nevertheless, Tai did not want one of Sora's last thoughts to be how her best friend had hidden something so big from her and that their friendship might have been based on something else. Of course, despite the fact that Tai was in love with her, he had still always seen her as his best friend as well, but such a shock might cause her to think otherwise.

He had no idea what he should do, and it was doing his head in. Each path carried its own risks. If he told Sora, then she could very well see their entire friendship as being built on, or at least tainted by, a lie and for all he knew one or both of them could be dead before they could resolve such a misunderstanding. But, if he continued to hide it from her then he would feel as if he were betraying her in a way. What he felt for her was the only major thing he had ever kept from her, and as far as he knew Sora held no such secrets from him. By not telling her, the way he saw it, he was effectively lying to her. Why did this have to be so hard, he wondered.

Thinking back, he reflected that some, in fact most, of the most memorable times of his life all involved Sora; years of playing soccer together, their common classroom hijinks when they were younger, which they both eventually grew out of, Sora before Tai of course. Above all were their adventures with the Digimon, both in the Digital World and back home on Earth, times so spectacular and life changing that he doubted he would be the same person he was today had he not shared such an experience with her.

Over the years she had calmed him, but at the same time her fiery inner spirit had kept the spark of fun, and sometimes mischief, alive within him. Sora's influence, simply by being in his life, was more than almost any other person. Only Kari had affected him in such a profound way, through her illness as a child and her kindness and understanding as a young woman. All of his greatest moments had been shared with Sora, at one point or another, and he felt that he owed her so much for that at least. There was no way in the world that he could deserve her and the things she had done for him, even if she was unaware of them. But perhaps, he thought, the one thing left that he could do for her was to let her know that she was loved dearly by someone close to her. It could shock her, it could make her feel as though she had been lied to for years, but it was the greatest comfort that Tai thought he could offer, and he respected her too much to let something so important remain hidden forever.

That was it. He was resolved to reveal to Sora the truth he had hidden for so long. In his mind he repeated that to himself over and over, slowly building the nerve to let it out. However, the more he said it to himself, the more scared he got. Soon his thoughts had wondered away from what he was going to do and had become stuck on what she might say, think or do. Every possibility he could think of blew through his mind, flashing images of a million different reactions from Sora, each more discouraging than the last.

He was frozen. He swore that he would do it, he wanted to do it, but the uncertainty of what could happen terrified him. His throat contracted and he felt a lump form, as if to tell him to keep his mouth shut and to say nothing. He swallowed hard. He had to overcome this, he had not finally made up his mind to tell her just to be stopped by cowardice, not the Digidestined of Courage. He swallowed again and cleared his throat. No more holding back, it was now or never.

"I must be really brave or really stupid." Tai mumbled to himself.

"Hmm? Tai?" Sora said gently, causing him to jolt in his place on the floor beside her.

"Well, here goes nothing." he whispered, again just to himself.

Steeling himself for what could be one of the most important things he would ever say in his life, he shifted to face her, meeting her eyes in a serious but warm stare. Without looking down, he took one of her hands in his and, finally, began to speak.

"Sora, you've been my best friend since… well since as far back as I can really remember. I honestly couldn't think of a better person to have shared that with." Tai told her, his voice sounding as nervous as he felt, but she did not seem to notice. All he could see in her face was warmth and gratitude from what he was telling her.

"Tai, you're the best friend I could ever hope to have too." she replied, her soft lips curved into a simple, affectionate smile, and he could not help but return it. But still, he had to press on, before he lost his nerve.

"But there's something else." he continued, somewhat evasively.

"Else?" she questioned, her smile fading ever so slightly.

"Yeah… something I've held back for a while – probably longer than I should have." he responded, his hands starting to sweat from the nerves.

"Well… heh, I guess that's funny since-" Sora started to say, but Tai, not wanting to lose his nerve, pressed on.

"I've been arguing with myself about whether or not to say this… and I still don't know if I should…" he chattered on, temporarily losing sight of his goal, "But I can't keep quiet about it anymore. I- I know this is probably gonna be a shock, and I don't want to do that to you, but-"

"Tai…" Sora interjected softly, which was enough to bring him out of his loop of worry and rambling. She was shifting slightly in her place. He was not sure why, but he assumed she was just uncomfortable and brushed it off. Taking one last deep breath, he seized the moment.

"Sora I-" he began, but was cut short as Sora shot in and locked her lips with his.

Tai's eyes flew open in shock, his entire body frozen in a limbo of disbelief. She was soft and gentle against him, probing no further than the surface. It was a kiss borne only of innocence and care, but it still held an unbelievable passion that boiled over from her body to his.

All of this was nearly lost on Tai as his brain tried frantically to process what was happening. His senses had been driven beyond the breaking point. Nothing was as it had been for him. He did not even know how long it had been since their lips had first made contact. Seconds? Minutes? Hours? Time seemed to blur as he tried to bring himself back to reality.

Just as he had overcome the shock and made to return the kiss, Sora pulled away, leaving him gasping, still looking flabbergasted at what had just happened. From where he sat, he could see a look of embarrassment and guilt on her face, miring the simple happiness he was most fond of. Her cheeks were a brilliant red and, strangely, her mouth was wobbling, as though she could not decide whether to smile or not.

"I'm sorry…" she murmured bashfully, "I couldn't help it."

Tai just sat there with a confused stare, so Sora continued.

"I… I know you probably don't- don't feel the same, but… but I've felt this way about you for… for years I think." she explained, her voice racked with staggeringly raw emotion, "I never said anything before, and it's OK if you don't return my feelings, but… but I didn't want anything to happen to either of us and have not have told you… Tai, I love-"

Tai did not let her finish. Just as she had done, he interrupted with a kiss of his own. It was then Sora's turn to be frozen in shock. He pulled away before she could return it and looked straight into her eyes. They were shining with an emotion that Tai could only identify as ecstasy, and he knew that if he had a mirror that his would look exactly the same. In all the years he had held his secret, he had never suspected that she was doing the same. For the moment, everything else was blocked out, the banging on the door, the moaning and growling from the other side, all of his attention was on her. After a moment, she finally spoke.

"D-does that mean…" she tried but he heard her breath catch in her throat.

Unable to speak himself, Tai simply nodded. He noticed as well that he was smiling uncontrollably and that his breathing had become rapid.

"How long?" Sora asked, a half-hearted chuckle escaping her mouth.

Tai cleared his throat. Nothing was restricting it, but he still felt he had to do it for him to be able to talk.

"A long time… I don't know how long. Before we started middle school, I guess." Tai answered truthfully, his eyes not leaving hers for a second.

Another small chuckle came from her lips.

"Me… me too." she revealed, a sheepish smile plastered across her face, "We took our, time didn't we."

Tai just smiled back, but it was a smile that faltered. Now that it was all out in the open, he could feel a sadness growing. They were so close to the end now. If only one of them had said something earlier. Strangely, he felt something slide down his face. He only realised after a second that it was a tear.

"I- I want more time." he choked.

Sora just nodded, her smile having turned wobbly as well. He noticed that she too had tears in her eyes.

"Guess we'd better savour this while we can then." she whispered mournfully.

Slowly, they embraced each other, but no longer just as friends. Now they were more, so much more. They shared a single kiss, like before. Sora then rested her head on his shoulder, and his head rested on hers. They were content in each other's presence. There was nothing more that they needed, now that they finally had each other.

* * *

><p>Wargreymon landed softly on a patch of dirt halfway up the cliff. Already he could sense the insidious darkness bearing down upon him. As he began a swift march up to the cliff edge, he felt it gradually become stronger and stronger. It was almost nauseating, but he continued on in spite of it. He had come too far to stop now.<p>

Like it had been on the beach in Daemon's presence, the fog was thick, and it moved almost as if it were alive, circling him, stalking him, mocking him. He brushed it off and kept on walking.

Soon, he came upon the edge of the precipice and was met by the black and purple mass he had seen when he was down on the sand. It looked even worse up close. The mist looked less like a vapour and more like a viscous liquid, closer to a swirling, pulsing mound of sludge than to a bank of fog.

Sick of the sight of it, Wargreymon called out to his adversary.

"Daemon, get out here!" he roared, voice ringing with hatred.

The mass quickly dissipated, leaving bare earth where it had sat. For a moment all was still, but the quiet was soon interrupted by a speaker from nowhere.

"Can I not command my army of the dead without disturbance?" came Daemon's clearly irritated voice, "Must I entertain you constantly, you metal headed fool?"

"Your little game is over, Daemon." Wargreymon told him simply, no longer interested in mincing words.

"Over?" Daemon laughed arrogantly, "Have you learned nothing yet, you pathetic excuse for a Digimon?"

"Try me." Wargreymon challenged, betraying no emotion aside from a powerful determination.

Daemon simply laughed again from wherever he was hiding.

Without warning, Wargreymon was hit from the side by one of the dark sorcerer's flaming attacks, but the fire bounced off his armour and he shrugged it off easily. Daemon did not seem to care as he was seemingly more interested in taunting the armoured warrior instead of actually doing any damage. The attacks kept coming and Wargreymon parried each with little difficulty, but the fact they were once again coming from all directions made it impossible to tell where his enemy was at any given time. But, remembering what he had seen on the beach, he kept his head on a swivel and his eyes constantly scanning, looking for the one thing that would show him where and when to strike.

The attacks continued on for what must have been at least a few minutes, neither tiring. Wargreymon could tell that Daemon's flaming strikes were of little power, no doubt to avoid running himself dry in his weakened state. Even if he allowed himself to be hit, there would be no danger of any real damage being done at all, but as far as mind games went, this was one of the most irritating that the mega level had ever experienced. Still, he remained fully alert, he could not miss his best, and last, chance. Time was running out.

"You still don't get it do you!?" Daemon chided from the mist.

Still there was nothing.

A fiery blast from his right was accompanied by a single word.

"You!"

He still could not see it.

Another attack came roaring in from behind.

"Cannot!"

He saw a tiny flicker of purple off to the left, moments before another bolt of fire from the same spot.

"Destroy!"

There it was again on the right, followed seconds later by another attack.

"ME!"

He saw it in front of him. Waiting no longer, Wargreymon seized his opportunity, thrusting forward with his right dramon destroyer, slicing swiftly through the air until he felt it hit raw data.

Holding it in place, he felt a small weight fall on his metal claw. For a few seconds nothing happened, but slowly a flicker of red materialised before him, becoming more full and defined with time. After a few moments he was left to stare, once again, at Daemon, who had reappeared before him. His dramon destroyer had pierced right through the dark Digimon's torso, leaving the sorcerer slumped forward over his arm.

Over the soft sounds of the ocean below, Wargreymon could hear a gurgling coming from beneath Daemon's hood. After a short while, the dark Digimon raised his head and stared straight at Wargreymon with his one remaining eye. Even though it was impossible to see Daemon's face through the darkness of his hood, Wargreymon knew that, had he been able to, he would have seen an expression of disbelief that would slowly turn to rage.

"Looks like I can destroy you." Wargreymon said quietly, but still loud enough for his hooded victim to hear.

Urgh… h-how? Daemon managed to say as he had started to cough and splutter.

"Look around you, Daemon; seems like Dagomon is still fighting against you." the armoured warrior replied.

Daemon said nothing, clearly confused by what Wargreymon has said to him. But, when he finally looked around, to his left and to his right, he let out a howl of hate and anger. He had been safe. He had planned it all out. He had stalled them for so long already. But he had overlooked one thing.

As he knelt there with Wargreymon's claw still lodged in his torso, Daemon could finally see the flickering purple stream that flowed from his body. The fizzling trail of data, his data, slowly climbed high into the sky, as Dagomon's accursed, corrupting virus tore at him, deleting him piece by piece.

"It's over now." Wargreymon told him matter-of-factly, "You lose."

Daemon began panting, his fury forming a dark, deathly aura around him.

"No… No, you still don't see do you?" he hissed darkly.

"What do you mean?" Wargreymon demanded, his patience running short. He did not know why, but he felt that Daemon was smiling under his hood as he spoke.

"You're too late. You can't save them." Daemon mocked, "I had them in a corner when you came. They were mere moments from their fate. They will be dead by now."

Wargreymon stayed silent. He was unsure of whether Daemon was referring to anyone specific or to all twelve Digidestined, but either possibility was almost too terrible to contemplate. The longer the dying sorcerer spoke for, the more Wargreymon's anger grew.

"How does it feel," Daemon asked cruelly, starting to cough again, "knowing you came so close, but still couldn't save them?"

Still he did nothing, but as his rage grew, he began to twitch.

"For so long…. you thought you were… invincible." Daemon continued on, laughing as he coughed, "I wonder which scummy humans they'll pick next to defend the Digital-"

Daemon was cut short as Wargreymon roared and withdrew his claw from his foe's body. With one lightning movement, the mega Digimon of Courage plunged his dramon destroyer through the hole in Daemon's hood, straight into the blackness where his face would have been. With that there was silence as the dark Digimon exploded into a million pieces of data, which streamed upwards into the sky, leaving no trace of the evil sorcerer behind.

For a few moments, Wargreymon stood there. Had Daemon's words been true? Had any of the Digidestined been taken? Had he been too late? He did not know what to think. All he knew is that he no longer wished to stay in the Dark Ocean.

"I'd better go get the others." he said lowly to himself, "I've had enough of this world."

* * *

><p>He had been watching her for a while now. He had worried about how she would cope, whether or not she would improve as time went on. But now, as Ken watched her with the young boy, despite how fresh the loss still was, he felt that, now, Yolei would recover.<p>

He was just within earshot, only barely able to hear what she was saying to him. Initially she had seemed uncomfortable, not knowing what to say to the boy who, he gathered, had lost his parents. But, slowly she had fallen into a role as carer, almost like a big sister. Now she spoke warmly and confidently to the child, and miraculously both were able to smile.

"When I go home, will you visit me, Yolei?" the little boy asked her innocently.

"Of course Haru, I'll do my best." Yolei assured, smiling softly at him.

Yolei would still have some hard days ahead of her, Ken thought. The loss of her sister would again come to the forefront, especially when she was reunited with the rest of her family. But in her now, he could see an acceptance, a certain tranquillity. Maybe she would have been that way anyway, but Ken could not help but think that the boy had something to do with it. He could not quite put his finger on it, but he had definitely brought out something in Yolei, helped to heal her a little.

"Hey Ken." came a voice from behind him.

Spinning around, he found that Davis and Cody had come up to him, looking strangely elated considering the circumstances.

"What're you looking at?" Davis asked bluntly.

Ken pointed over at Yolei through the crowd of people.

"Who's the kid?" Davis questioned, but Ken waved his hand dismissively.

"It's a long story and I think we'd best leave them be for now." he explained quickly, receiving a confused but understanding nod form both Davis and Cody, "Is there anything I need to know?"

"Actually…" Davis started.

"We saw our families and the others getting off the helicopters. I think everyone is OK!" Cody finished happily.

Ken felt a smile quickly creep onto his face. Without waiting, he beseeched the two other Digidestined to take him to where everyone else was, and they quickly complied, but not before Cody asked one last question.

"What about Yolei?"

Ken looked back at her, making a quick decision.

"I'll tell her folks what she's doing. She'll be fine there for now." he answered.

Without further ado, they made their way quickly over to the large landing pad where the helicopters had been landing, seeing the last of them lift off again to head back to the mainland to rescue who they could. What was left was a large throng of survivors who had just disembarked from the American machines and were now bustling about, trying to find friends and loved ones, or looking for a doctor or some other type of assistance.

For a while they saw no one familiar, but before long their eyes landed on the people they sought. All the families, who Ken had left in the safety of the hotel, were all bunched together and had finally made their way out of the mob and into the open. Everyone was there. No one else had been lost. When his eyes fell on his parents, Ken almost exploded with happiness.

"Mum! Dad!" he shouted out in joy.

Somehow, above all the chaos they both heard his voice and, without hesitating, dashed over to and locked him in one of the tightest embraces he had ever felt. He could not understand what they were saying, but at that point he was far too happy to care. Looking off to his left, he saw Davis being smothered by his own mother and Cody caught between his family and T.K. and Kari's parents, explaining where they were. This reminded him and he pulled away from his mother and father, telling them that there was something he needed to do.

As he approached Yolei's parents, he was shocked and delighted to see Matt, Mimi, Izzy and Joe emerge from the crowd and rushing immediately over to their families. Despite the hurt and terror they had experience, it seemed that this cluttered reunion had created a renewed happiness in the hearts of everyone. They would have to live with what they had seen and what they had lost, but for now the relief overwhelmed them such that all else was pushed from their minds.

Yolei's parents looked worried when he approached them, seeming to think that perhaps he had some bad news to break to them. Their reaction upon what Ken told them was warming to his heart; they had suffered enough over the past few days. It was only after he had finished explaining to Yolei's parents what she was doing that something dawned on him. There were still two people he had not yet seen.

Excusing himself from that Inoue family, he hurried over to Matt, but was beaten to the punch. Toshiko Takenouchi had made her way over to the celebrating group and had pulled Matt aside. In earshot of himself, and the Kamiyas who had followed her with what seemed to be a similar concern, Toshiko questioned Matt with much trepidation.

"Matt where are Sora and Tai?"

Matt grimaced. His stance suggested that something was holding him down. A great burden lay on him.

"We got separated." was all he managed to say before falling silent, his gaze falling straight to the ground.

Ken could not see her expression, but Toshiko's hands went straight to her face and her body slumped back where she stood, causing her to stumble half a step backwards.

Ken had no words. Still there were those among them who they had to fear for. Still the ordeal was not over for them. He hoped they were safe.

Each step through the corpse ridden street was disgusting. Blood and gore coated the ground beneath their feet, and every other step would be a stumble as one of the pair would trip on one of the bodies. But even despite the ghastly, horrid landscape they trudged through, despite the growing stench that was beginning to rise as the morning sun fell fully on the carcasses, despite everything they had been through, Tai and Sora were still alive.

Ahead they noticed others who had survived and were now venturing out into the street. They knew none of them, but the sight of each new person filled them with a strange, unfamiliar joy. To see that others had survived the nightmare was a miracle that they now cherished.

* * *

><p>It had been just over an hour since the banging on the office door had stopped. At first they had ignored it, but when it had not resumed they took a quick peek under the door, followed by opening the door a crack to see through it. Every one of the undead had collapsed. They no longer moved or made any sound. They were as they should be; dead.<p>

Now, Tai and Sora walked freely again in the streets of their home. Their freedom was not only from fear and death, but freedom with each other. No longer did they live in the dark, no longer did they hide what they felt for each other.

As they watched the sun continue rise slowly in the sky, smiling as they stood hand in hand, they could feel a brighter future emerging from the darkness of their ordeal. For them, for the Digidestined, for everyone, a new day was dawning.


	17. Epilogue: Normal

He was running down a street, where exactly he was unsure as everything beyond the gutter was shrouded in the murkiest of shadows. Everything was spinning around him. There were screams, growls, screeches and the sound of dozens of feet inexorably closing in on him. He doubled his pace, but every stride he took seemed to take him a shorter and shorter distance. He strained as hard as he could, but with each passing second he could feel his pursuers closing in on him.

He was out of breath, his chest tightening as if his lungs were held in a vice. Everything was getting darker. The growls from behind him were getting louder. No matter how fast he ran they still gained on him.

Now he began to see bodies. Men, women, children, they were lying everywhere, all on their backs facing straight up. They were chewed up, mutilated, covered in blood, and every single face had its eyes wide open, pupils dilated and staring blankly at the pitch black sky. There were dozens, but he knew none of them.

He kept running, not looking back as the growls and screeches behind him became louder still. His heart raced, beating so fast he could not count each individual thump. His legs were failing him, seizing up in protest to his continued sprinting, not wanting to go on. He ignored them and kept running.

The bodies became more and more frequent, but still he recognised no one. That was until he saw a pile off in the distance. He could not quite make them out at first, but as he got closer he saw one with blue hair and glasses, another couple that were a golden blond. There were eleven in total. What stopped him was the one that lay on top. It was a teenage girl, slim and athletic with, most distinctively, orange-red hair. He ceased running, fell to his knees and let out a scream as a dozen, cold pairs of hands fell on him from behind.

* * *

><p>Tai woke with a yelp, sitting up and scanning the room frantically, his breathing hysterical. The television flickered in front of him, showing what looked to be a news report on Japan's slow recovery after the disaster. It showed the much quieter streets, bars, schools and businesses, now all present reminders of the magnitude of death that had been caused.<p>

It was only when he felt a gentle touch from his side that he stopped twisting his head in every direction and looked down beside him. There was Sora, alive and well with a look of deep concern on her face. Tai let out a sigh of relief as he slumped back into the couch where both of them had fallen asleep the night before.

"Another nightmare?" she asked him softly as she gave him a worried look.

Tai simply nodded, not wanting to get into any details about the terrible vision he had just lived through. It had seemed so real.

Sora grasped his hand in hers.

"Me too." she told him.

Six months. Six months and still the demons of the past refused to leave them alone. None of the Digidestined had gotten through the terror without scars. He could still see it in all of them, although some, including Matt and himself, were reluctant to admit it. They had beaten Daemon, but even after all the time that had passed his monsters still haunted them. Their lives were not, and would never, for a long time at least, be the same. To acknowledge that, Tai thought, would be to admit the evil Digimon had won at least a small victory. Still, he could not hide from the truth, no matter how much he would have liked to.

"Even now it's not over. I wake up like this every morning." Tai said bitterly.

"Hey," Sora piped up warmly, "You wake up next to me often enough, that has to count for something."

Tai smiled.

"Well I do love it when movie night runs overtime." he said playfully and they both snuggled closer together in the cool of the early morning.

They stayed like that for some time, basking in each other's warmth, both soothed by the other's rhythmic breathing. After a while, though, Tai spoke again.

"I wish there was some way we could get back at him." Tai whispered morosely, "Even if we got him in the end, he still won."

"What?" Sora replied, surprised to hear him speak so frankly about it.

"He didn't get us, but nothing will ever be the same again." Tai said resentfully, "Everyone's had to go to counselling, our graduating class was about a quarter of the size it should have been, Gabumon got hurt, I mean I know it wasn't permanent, but still. Davis lost his dad, Yolei lost her sister, you…"

Sora blinked and looked away for a moment. Her father was still a touchy subject with her.

"What I mean to say is that it'll be hard to ever live normally again." Tai backtracked, taking the subject away from those they had lost.

Sora looked at him, her eyes freezing him where he sat. Throughout it all it was her who had kept him sane. His concern for her during the whole crisis had given him a focus, and in the aftermath she had been the support he had needed to stay on track. He loved her more than he ever had before.

"Then maybe that's our revenge." she said cryptically.

"What do you mean?" Tai asked, confused.

"You know how they say that the best revenge is to live well? Well, perhaps the best revenge for us is to get back to normal." Sora explained, "He wanted to take our lives away, or to ruin them. If we can live normally again, then he loses."

Tai could not help but smile at her. It would be a tough road, but now that he thought about it, normality, together with her, was all he wanted anymore. If that meant Daemon had failed, then maybe there was a shred of justice in the world. He wrapped both arms around her and drew her close.

"What would I do without you." he murmured in her ear as he rested his forehead against her silky red hair. He received a giggle.

"Without me, you probably would have killed T.K. by now." She joked.

Tai smiled even wider.

"Well Kari's over at his place now, so maybe that should be first on my to-do list today." he quipped, playing along.

"How about breakfast first, then you can do whatever you like to poor little T.K." she replied, a familiar mischievous grin on her face.

"Tell you what," Tai reasoned, "we go back to sleep, then breakfast, then kill T.K. Deal?"

"Deal." Sora laughed as she shifted to face Tai and wrapped her own arms around him. They both shared a small kiss before both drifting off into the first quiet, dreamless sleep they had had in a long time.

**Endnote:**

**So that is the conclusion of this story. It took me a year but, for a first attempt, I'll say not too bad. I thought I ended it a little abruptly, but I feel that it had gone on long enough and I hope I addressed everything I needed to. I'll welcome any criticisms though as I'm really hoping to improve as time goes by.  
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**In general to the **readers** and reviewers, it makes me feel all sappy and cliché to say it, but your words of encouragement, as well as ideas and comments really are a major motivation to keep writing. It really made me feel good, no matter what, every time I got an update that I had received a review or a follow or something. Thank you all so much and I truly hope you enjoyed this story. I am now moving onto new projects, so expect more in the coming weeks (if you're still interested in reading more of my ramblings).**


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